


Beautiful Monsters

by SunlightOnTheWater



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, F/M, Full Shift Werewolves, Gen, Pack Dynamics, Werewolf Dean Winchester
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-11
Updated: 2014-01-14
Packaged: 2017-12-22 23:52:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 27
Words: 31,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/919519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SunlightOnTheWater/pseuds/SunlightOnTheWater
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When what started as simple flirtation ended in disaster, Dean Winchester was forced to flee for his life, leaving his father to try to piece together what happened in his absence. And while Dean finds himself discovering what it means to be the creature his has become John Winchester searches for any sign of what happened to his eldest son.</p>
<p>Warning; major timeline finagling going on here</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Redhead With A Bite

**Author's Note:**

> So every chapter of this story in the beginning notes will have a list of characters for the chapter, pairings for the chapter, and a one or two sentence summary.
> 
> **Characters;** Dean Winchester, Lily Heartman, Daniel Elkins
> 
> **Pairings;** past Cassie Robinson/Dean Winchester, Dean Winchester/Lily Heartman, past Lily Heartman/Noah Heartman
> 
> **Summary;** He had been trying to forget, not be attacked.

_Redhead With A Bite_

As soon as he'd walked into the bar Dean had set his sights on the pretty redhead laughing at some joke the bartender had told her. Her hair, the same brilliant color as a certain Disney mermaid who'd wanted legs, rippled down to the middle of her back. Her eyes were sky blue, her lips cherry red, and her form flawless. He watched as she shot down yet another man who approached her, one thing holding him back from being the next candidate. _Cassie_. It had only been a month since he'd made the mistake of telling her the truth. Only a month since she'd informed him that he was crazy and slammed the door on his face. He'd called her hourly, leaving enough messages that she finally called back to inform him that they were done and not to ever come back again. He'd spent that month trying to forget but it was hard now that every woman he looked at was compared to Cassie in some way and found lacking.

He watched for another hour as she turned man after man away, some with laughter and some with unamused stares held until they awkwardly backed away. He went through three beers, the bottles settled carefully on his little table near the corner, as the hours ticked on, drifting past midnight. Dad would be wondering where he was but at the moment Dean couldn't work up the energy to care. He was _tired_. Tired of the hunt, which wasn't as fulfilling as it had been with Sammy, and tired of looking at every female he passed and seeing Cassie.

"You look like you need another drink." Dean blinked as a fresh beer bottle was clunked down on the table in front of him. He glanced up to inform the server that he wasn't in need of anything and was caught by the wide blue eyes of the redhead he'd been studying. "Humor me," she said, a slim but genuine smile gracing her cherry lips. Dean nodded once, uncapping the beer and tapping it lightly against her own.

"Cheers," he said with dry humor and the smile widened slightly. Other men around the room shot him jealous gazes but he ignored them, taking a drink and turning a questioning glance toward the woman. "So why exactly are you here?"

"Same reason as you, I think," she said. "To forget someone."

"Fair enough," Dean admitted. "I'm Dean Winchester."

"Lily Heartman," she offered in return. "So what brings you out to the Middle Of Nowhere, Montana?"

"Hunting trip with my father," Dean said with a shrug, unwilling to come up with a cleverer lie this night. "I thought it'd be a good way to get Cassie, my ex-girlfriend, out of my mind but it isn't working.

"I know the feeling," Lily said. "Believe me, I've tried just about everything and I haven't found anything that helps much." She paused, expression suddenly thoughtful. "Well, I take that back. There is one thing."

"What?" Dean asked curiously, taking another drink of his beer in a halfhearted attempt to hide his hope.

"Stargazing," Lily said, flushing slightly. "I know it sounds silly but there's just something about the stars that puts things into perspective."

"Let's go then," Dean suggested on a whim, hiding his wince as the words escaped him. John Winchester would have shot him if he'd known those words had ever exited his mouth. Go _outside_ in the middle of January in Montana at just after four in the morning? It was insane. It could get them both killed. Right now Dean didn't care.

" _Now_?" Lily asked, sounding just as shocked as his father would have. "Dean, it's the middle of _January_!"

"I've been told winter is the best time to see the stars." At that Lily threw back her head and laughed. It was a pure, musical sound that turned heads all across the room. Dean received more jealous looks but he was too intoxicated by Lily's laugh and the small suggested rebellion against his father to care just then.

"Let's go then," she said. "Do you want to drive or shall I?"

"I'll drive," he said and Lily nodded. 

The ride in the Impala to the closest park was completely quiet. As soon as he'd started the engine Lily had flipped off the Metallica tape he'd had blaring and he hadn't protested. Something about sitting in silence with her as they cruised down dark streets just felt _right_. It felt dangerous too but Dean ignored that thought as he parked his baby and stepped outside. He took Lily's hand when she offered it and together they crunched across the snowy lawn. 

They ended up settled on a snowy bench staring silently up a the sky. Lily had been right. In an odd sort of way the twinkling silver stars spread across the sky made his problems with Cassie feel small and inconsequential. They sat there, chilly hands clasped together as somewhere in town a church bell tolled five in the morning. "It's kind of peaceful out here, don't you think?" Lily asked. That was when the howling started.

At first Dean thought it was a low moan but as it rose in a wail he recognized it for what it really was; wolf howling. Lily's face paled, turning whiter than the full moon glowing above them. They listened, tense in the sudden silence, and were rewarded with another, closer howl. "Oh no," Lily murmured, already on her feet. "Please no." Her fingers still intertwined with Dean's, she glanced around the park, searching for answers. The area around them, forested with authentic trees and undergrowth as if it were a real forest, would hide a lot. Dean took that in with the grim acceptance that came from working with John Winchester and stood. A moment later Lily was shoving him with inhuman strength back down to the bench, kissing him hard. His mind swirling with shock, Dean let it happen, not realizing until too late that in the process she'd cuffed him to the cement bench. "I'm really sorry about this," she apologized, her wide blue eyes pleading for him to understand. Then she turned and ran in the direction of the howling.

Dean swore and, as soon as she vanished from sight, shoved his free hand in his jacket pocket in search of paper clips. His quest came out negative. He swore again as howling turned to yipping and snarling that suddenly cut off. Moments later it started up again but Dean was distracted from the ongoing fight by a set of yellow eyes staring at him. A low growl rumbled across the clearing and Dean tensed, fixing his eyes on those yellow ones. The creature hesitated for a moment and then lunged. Dean caught a glimpse of powerful legs, sharp claws, and dagger like teeth before it slammed into him. He cried out in pain as the cement bench shattered like glass and he went crashing into the unforgiving ground with the creature on top of him. His head bounced off cold cement, making his vision spin. His coordination, shaken from the fall and the hit on the head, didn't allow him to stop the wolf as it sliced claws across his chest, shredding his skin like it was paper. A hoarse cry slipped loose from his throat, echoing in the chilly night.

He accepted his fate in that moment. He was going to die because he'd gone out with a girl to see stars. Because he was stupid enough to try and rebel against the golden rule of hunting; you never went out unarmed after dark. The wolf bared those mindnumbingly sharp teeth, head dipping down toward his throat for the kill, and Dean tried to lift one of his two heavy arms in a futile attempt to block the coming bite. He didn't get an arm up but the wolf went sailing off his chest, tackled by a smaller one with reddish brown fur. Through his haze of pain Dean had a vague thought that the wolf was Lily coming back to save him but that was just silliness. Lily was dead, probably already devoured by the wolves he'd heard earlier.

The pair fought, snarling and yipping, until the smaller reddish one managed to take a bite out of the black one's throat. It was cut off in mid snarl, suddenly choking as it stumbled away from the reddish wolf to collapse fully human. Dean gaped at it, eyes widening further when the reddish wolf shifted too. It was Lily, beautiful as ever and completely naked. Dean tried not to stare as she crawled over to him, already crying. "I'm sorry," she sobbed. "So, so sorry because this is a terrible choice you have to make."

"What do you mean?" Dean gasped out, even though he knew the answer. He was dying and Lily, a werewolf, probably wanted to change him.

"There's so much I need to tell you and not enough time," Lily continued as if he hadn't even spoken. "I came to the bar to find bait, someone I could drag out here to draw out the wolves. You see, they killed my mate, Noah, and I wanted revenge before I die. I've been poisoned by silver and it will kill me before the night's up." Lily took in a deep, gulping breath. "I picked you because I understood you and because you acted like you cared instead of those other idiots who just wanted me for my body. And I picked you because you're a hunter."

She paused again, closing her eyes and pushing back more tears. Dean breathed raggedly and listened, because he couldn't do anything else. He couldn't even move. The broken cement bench had cracked his spine, leaving him helpless. "We can always smell hunters. They smell like metal and gun smoke. Their eyes are always world weary and wary. They always sit near exits where they can see the rest of the room. I thought being a hunter would protect you when I left to hunt. I was wrong and now you're paying the price for my mistake." Lily's eyes closed again and then turned to him; blue, stern, and full of determination. "So all I have left to offer you is a choice. I can call nine-one-one but I can tell you right now that you'll never survive the night. Still, death is your right if you want it. The only other option is to change you. I can turn you into a werewolf like me and I can send you in the direction of someone who can help you adjust. The choice is yours."

Dean wished in that moment that she hadn't asked. He wished desperately that she had just changed him instead so that when he inevitably faced his father he could say the choice had been out of his hands. Because he knew what the choice would be. To protect Sammy if his brother ever returned to the hunting lifestyle, although with each passing day his faith in that idea grew weaker, he had to be alive. Even if he was a monster. "Do it," he gasped out. "Change me." Lily nodded, eyes sad, and then leaned down and bit him. For a moment there was a throb in his left shoulder and when she pulled away there was a momentary rush of blood. Then nothing.

"I can stay with you until sunrise," Lily told him in a low voice. "Until the change is complete. There will be pain but do not loose heart. It will not last." Dean opened his mouth to ask what she was talking about but she stopped him with a kiss. Then the pain started and he lost the will to ask. He screamed silently as bones writhed back into place and skin knitted itself closed. Lily continued talking through it all, telling him that these would be the last scars he bore in his lifetime and that everything would be all right. Her delicate fingers stroked their way across his hand, trying to distract him from some of the pain.

The sun finally rose and Lily's even breathing turned to a pained wheeze even as Dean's own breathing evened out. He shoved himself upright, catching her as she tumbled to the ground gasping for breath. "Manning, Colorado," she managed to get out. "Daniel Elkins." Then, as Dean leaned even closer in a vain attempt to give her comfort she managed two last words. "Good luck."

Dean placed Lily's still body on the ground, sliding the handcuff off the broken cement bench piece. It was still attached to his wrist but he had a cuff key in the Impala. He took a couple steps and then paused, turning around to glance at Lily one last time. He normally wasn't sentimental but the girl who saved his life deserved more than to be left dead in the snow. "Where ever you're going to, I hope Noah's waiting for you," he said finally. "Good luck Lily Heartman." Then he stumbled to the Impala, body feeling as if it had gone ten rounds with a very angry poltergeist.

The drive to Manning wasn't long but Dean felt every jolt and pothole. Lily changing him may have healed him but it left his bones feeling tender and his muscles aching. He found himself shivering from time to time and kept turning the car's heater up. Finally he pulled into Manning and stopped in the parking lot of the local bar, stumbling out of the Impala and toward the door. He forced himself to slow down and walk as steadily as he could into the bar. "How can I help you honey?" the heavyset woman wiping down one of the tables asked. It was early morning, too early for customers unless they were serious drunkards, so Dean guessed the bar served some kind of early meal.

"I'm looking for a man named Daniel Elkins," Dean said, leaning lightly against the wall for support as his head spun. "A friend of mine sent me up here with a package for him but neglected to tell me anything but the town name."

"You're lucky this is a small town honey," the woman said with a friendly smile. "Daniel Elkins lives just outside of town. Follow the main road north and turn right on the first dirt road you see. Daniel lives at the end of that."

"Thank you ma'am," Dean said and the woman smiled at him. He returned the smile and headed for the door.

The drive to Elkins' house had him wracked with sudden fever chills. One time he shivered so hard that he thought he'd be forced to pull over until the chill vanished. He stumbled drunkenly out of his car when he finally arrived, barely managing to make it to the door which was flung open in his face before he could knock. Elkins had been doing a pretty good mimicry of an angry bear when he first flung the door open, shotgun in hand, but his face turned shocked when he saw Dean. "Lily Heartman sent me," Dean managed to get out before the world turned black and he passed out on Daniel Elkins' front porch.


	2. Startling Similarities

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Characters;** Daniel Elkins, Dean Winchester
> 
> **Pairings;** past Lily Heartman/Noah Heartman
> 
> **Summary;** He'd had this happen once before.

_Startling Similarities_

Daniel Elkins shoved the shotgun on to the end table as soon as the kid started to go down, barely catching him before he hit the floor. He dragged the young man in, mind still swirling with the last words that had been said before the boy had went down. _"Lily Heartman sent me."_ The words kept spinning in his brain, bringing with them a tide of memories. He placed the boy on his couch and then settled down in his ancient armchair, the one his wife Mindy had gotten him just a year before she'd died of lung cancer from all her smoking, not even bothering to grab his shotgun. Lily didn't send untrustworthy visitors. Hadn't really, because Lily was probably dead from silver poisoning by now.

Lily Heartman had showed up on his doorstep four years ago gushing blood and leaning heavily against the side of the porch. He'd opened the door, shotgun in hand, and she'd slurred out, "Lukas sent me" before crumpling the same way the boy on the sofa had. Lukas was the first full shifting werewolf Daniel had ever met so naturally he had been suspicious but he also hadn't been willing to let a young woman bleed to death outside his house. He'd brought her in and cleaned her up as best he could while he'd waited for Lukas to come and explain. The young man never had. Instead Lily had woken up and explained that Lukas had found her bitten and had been taking her back toward Daniel's house when they had been ambushed. Lukas had stayed back to hold the attackers. Lukas hadn't survived but Lily had and she'd made sure to hunt down the monsters who'd killed her white knight.

The similarities between that case and this one were starting. He also bet that the similarities didn't end there. Lily hadn't known anything about what she was so Daniel had trudged to the attic to dig out the few books he'd found about the subject after meeting Lukas. His library had grown since them, mostly thanks to Noah's interest in books, but he doubted the unconscious guy on his couch knew any more than Lily had. _Lily_. Her name sent a twinge of pain through him.

Lily had been like Mindy in a lot of ways; sweet, vivacious, and determined to do the right thing. She'd had a habit of showing up at his house during random times of the day and taking over the kitchen or just making enough noise that he knew someone else was there. After years of silence when Mindy had died the sounds had been comforting; a reminder that someone still cared if he lived or died. Now Lily was gone; taken away by silver poisoning in her bloodstream, and she had sent someone else to him for help. Typical. Lily would have wanted to know that whoever needed help was getting it.

The kid groaned, eyelids flickering open to reveal brilliant green eyes. He lifted a hand to his head, wincing slightly, and then glanced around. "You awake kid?" Daniel asked and got a wary glance in response. "You remember where you're at?"

"Manning, Colorado," the guy said after a moment of concentration. "Oh my God; Lily!" Daniel winced at the same time as the kid did.

"Dead?" He shouldn't have had to ask but he did. The kid nodded.

"Saved my life. Put it at risk handcuffing me to a bench first though," he said.

"Sounds like Lily," he admitted. Her first hunt with him, she'd used him as a human shield between her and a wendigo. "So who are you? We didn't exactly get to introductions before you passed out."

The kid flushed lightly at that. He probably went over well with the ladies like that. "Dean," he said, sitting up slowly without Daniel's help. "Dean Winchester."

"Dean _Winchester_?" Daniel asked, astonished. "John Winchester's oldest?" What was John doing letting his one son still hunting out on a case by his own.

"Yeah," Dean said tiredly. Then his eyes widened as some thought hit him. "You can't tell John. He'll try to kill me."

"I promise," Daniel said quickly. He didn't know John well but he knew the man enough to believe what Dean said. John believed in good and evil, black and white. He wasn't about to believe that a supernatural creature wasn't evil. Dean nodded, relaxing slightly, and then cried out, muscles seizing. Daniel glanced out the window and then cussed as the last moon of the full moon week rose slowly into the sky. Dean doubled up again, moaning.

"Dean if you have anything you want to keep in one piece take it off now," Daniel said lowly. "Because your stuff won't survive the transition."

"Transition?" Dean panted out.

"You're changing boy," Daniel said gruffly. "No way to stop now." Dean groaned again, shaking hands reaching up to pull an amulet on a black cord over his head, dropping it into Daniel's waiting hand. The leather jacket came off too but nothing else. Then moonlight drifted in through the window, a thin beam of light barely brushing Dean's bare hand. The kid cried out and Daniel sprang back as bones and muscles cracked and ripped. Dean's back arched and then, with a sound like he was ripping apart, _changed_. In moments a large dark grey wolf was sitting calmly on Daniel's couch. "Well," he said, sinking back down in his chair with Dean's amulet and jacket in hand. "Time to settle in for the night." He dropped the jacket and amulet on the one cluttered end table Mindy had bought before she died and pulled the blanket from the back of the chair, draping it over himself and leaning back in the chair. Moments later her heard a wolfish sigh and the sound of movement before Dean settled in on the couch. Eyes closed, Daniel managed a tired smile before drifting off the sleep.


	3. Werewolf 101

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Characters;** Dean Winchester, Daniel Elkins
> 
> **Pairings;** past Daniel Elkins/Mindy Elkins, past Lily Heartman/Noah Heartman, past Daniel Elkins/Angelica
> 
> **Summary;** Dean had a lot to learn.

_Werewolf 101_

_"Daniel? Daniel!" Mindy came out on the back porch, apron lightly dusted with flour. Her dark hair was pinned up in a bun that was slowly coming apart and even though she had less than four months to live she was still the most beautiful woman he'd ever met. "Daniel David Elkins, what are you doing?"_

_"Weeding," he called back, smiling up at her._

_"Well what are you doing that for?" she asked, smiling back at him. "I have fresh pretzels out of the oven."_

_"Give me enough time to wash my hands then," he said._

_Suddenly he was stepping out of the bathroom as Mindy was placing a pretzel on a plate on the table. "Have I told you today how much I love you?"_

_"I love you too," Mindy said, leaning over to kiss him on the cheek before heading to the kitchen._

Daniel drifted out of the dream world and into the real world by the sound of a groan. He opened his eyes, sitting up stiffly, and saw a naked Dean slowly sitting up. "Morning," he said gruffly, standing and tossing the blanket over Dean's head. "There are some spare clothes of Noah's in the bottom drawer of the bathroom cabinet. Get dressed."

"Yeah," Dean forced out through a wide yawn, wrapping the blanket around himself and heading in the direction Daniel indicated. Moments later he was back dressed in Noah's pants and with an unbuttoned plaid shirt on.

"For God's sake button the shirt," Daniel growled gruffly. "There's no girls around here to impress."

Dean flushed bright pink then, glancing down at the floor. "It uh, it doesn't button."

"Oh," was all Daniel could get out, suddenly realizing that Dean was broader across the chest and shoulders and more well built than Noah was.

"So, uh," Dean said awkwardly after a moment. "How do you know? About werewolves I mean."

"I'm a hunter," Daniel answered but he knew that wasn't what Dean mean. "But I wasn't always," he continued, steeling himself for the story. "Most of us weren't. In my case, I married in. I met my first wife, Angelica, when I was in high school. I loved her and I thought she loved me. Instead it turned out she was a demon and tried to kill me. I was lucky enough at nineteen to be saved by a man named Aaron Fell, who was an old man then. You probably know his grandson Joshua." Dean nodded once in acknowledgement but didn't interrupt. "Aaron trained me along with his son, David, so by the time I met my second wife Mindy I was a full blown hunter. "

That was when it got hard to talk. He'd loved Mindy more than he'd ever loved anyone before or since. Loved her so much his world had revolved around her until she'd died. "She and her sister Delilah were hunters. Delilah had a son, Lukas. He was twelve when he got bit." This part would be hard to tell too; but not just because of pain. Also because of shame. Shame for what they'd done. "Delilah dragged him to my house because I had a basement and she wanted to know if he'd change. There had been some cases of hunters not changing. We found out later it was because they had been possessed when they were bit so it didn't affect them."

Lukas had been _terrified_. He'd screamed and thrashed and fought at all of twelve when his mother had dragged him down to the basement and locked him in. "He changed the first night of the full moon, but not how we were expecting."

"Like Lily?" Dean asked.

"Like Lily," Daniel confirmed. "Delilah freaked and wanted to shoot him. While I was distracted with Delilah, Mindy opened the door and walked right in. Lukas ran right over to her. I was going to shoot him before I realized that he wasn't harming her. We got Delilah calmed down, or so we thought. She tried to kill him the next day. Lukas ran and I didn't see him again for five years. That's how I know."

"So you can tell me what's going on?" Dean sounded so desperate that Daniel wanted to reassure the kid that everything would be okay. Instead he nodded.

"Yeah," he said and Dean let out a soft sigh of relief that he wouldn't have heard if he hadn't been listening for it. "You see, there are two strains of lycanthropy. The second, newer strain is the one you know and hunt. They're mindless killers who only change teeth, nails, and minds during the full moon and go absolutely psycho. The first, older strain is the one you have. It's transferred through biting, like the new one, but it allows for a full shift during the week of the full moon. It also allows you to retain your mind and not go crazy. The more full moon weeks that go by the more you can control the shift."

"And Lukas, Lily, and Noah all were like this?" Dean asked, sounding hopefully.

"Yeah," Daniel said. "Turns out that the old strain were the original hunters. 'Course you need to avoid silver. It still harms you and if too much of it gets into your bloodstream it can kill you like it did Lily. And not all full shifters are friendly. But you'll be fine. Maybe even go back and see your Dad as long as you're not around the week of the full moon." But Dean was already shaking his head.

"I can't take that risk, at least not with Dad," he said, glancing out the window at the uncaring sky. "Maybe Sammy someday but not Dad. He'd kill me." And Daniel knew without a doubt that Dean was telling the truth. "So tell me about Lily and Noah," Dean said as a why of changing the subject.

"Lily found Noah out in the woods," Daniel said with a fond smile, remembering the way Lily had fussed over her future husband. "Bout a year ago. He'd been bitten and had been left to bleed out in the snow. Instead he survived and Lily nursed him back to health. By the end of that she was desperately in love with him and he was obsessed with her; practically worshiped the ground she walked on. They got married six months later." He hesitated then. "Did she tell you what happened to him?"

"She said they killed him," Dean replied. "The ones who she killed."

"Yeah, they did," Daniel agreed. "But killing a werewolf isn't easy. They ripped him apart and he was still alive for a lot of it." Dean winced, eyes sad.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, sounding like he meant it. Daniel nodded once. 

"Get some rest kid," he said, standing and heading for the kitchen. "You'll need it after last night."

"It's Dean!" the kid called after him as he opened the fridge and for the first time since Lily had run off to take her revenge Daniel Elkins actually smiled.


	4. Missing Son

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Characters;** John Winchester, Bobby Singer, Jim Murphy
> 
> **Pairings;** past John Winchester/Mary Winchester
> 
> **Summary;** Dean was rarely late and never this late.

_Missing Son_

John Winchester was worried. Dean had been late before coming back from bars, usually sauntering in with a smug smile that meant he'd went home with some girl, but he'd never been this late. He'd been gone twenty-four hours without calling and without any sign of the Impala. That was when John had started investigating. The bartender, a middle aged woman with her long brown hair pulled up in a sharp bun and a scatter of freckles across her round cheeks, had said Dean had left with a red headed beauty she hadn't recognized before. Her coworker, an old man with very little grey hair left but still strong muscles, commented that the red head had shown up in the newspaper just yesterday evening. John had thanked them and picked up a copy of the newspaper from the main office in the center of the town. What the headline had screamed had shocked him.

  
_GIRL MURDERED IN LOCAL PARK  
Lily Heartman, age twenty-five was found dead early yesterday morning in Rathaway Park. The local of Manning, Colorado, just two hours away, was found lying naked and dead in the snow next to the remains of a cement park bench. The cause of death has been suspected a heart attack but the coroner has not yet released the official report. Nearby were three other dead bodies, also naked but looked as if they'd been attacked and savaged by wild animals. Lily and the three other unnamed park victims make the local total seven for animal attacks, bringing up the average to three more deaths than normal._

_More disturbing than the deaths though is the fact that there are signs of a fourth person, unidentified for now. Lily Heartman was seen leaving with the unidentified male from the Moonraiser, the local bar but has not been seen yet. Police say he is considered a victim and not a suspect in any of the deaths._

John dropped the paper on the floor of his hotel room and scrambled for his phone, quickly dialing Pastor Jim's number from memory. The man answered on the third ring. "Jim Murphy here. How can I help you?"

"Jim, this is John," he said, fingers trembling as he clutched the phone to his ear. 

"John? How are you? How can I help you?"

"Have you heard from Dean?" John asked in a rush.

"No," Jim said, suddenly sounding worried. "Why? Is he missing?"

"I'm not sure," John replied, fighting to keep his voice level. "I'm going to call Bobby first and ask him if he's heard anything."

"Okay," Jim said after a moment. "But you call me when you find out Winchester." Then there was the dial tone in John's ear as Pastor Jim hung up the phone. It took him a moment to dial Bobby's number, his fingers shaking worse than they had before.

"Singer's Salvage," Bobby's gruff voice answered.

"Bobby, it's John. Have you heard from Dean?"

"Not since last week," Bobby replied. "Why?" But the phone had already slipped from John's numb fingers, falling to thump against the thinly carpeted floor. Dean was gone.


	5. Moonlight Killings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Characters;** Dean Winchester, Daniel Elkins, Morgan Stanley, Nate Burke, Olivia Marshall
> 
> **Pairings;** Dean Winchester/ Morgan Stanley, Nate Burke/Olivia Marshall
> 
> **Summary;** People were dying every full moon at Destin.
> 
> **_IMPORTANT NOTE!_** This takes place about a month after the last chapter.

  
_Moonlight Killings_

"You sure you can handle this kid?" Despite having spent more time than he would have like recovering and learning everything he could about his new condition at Daniel's home, the older man still called him kid most of the time instead of Dean.

"Yeah, I've got it," Dean said, dumping his duffle on the lone bed in his temporary home for the next couple days. It was a tacky looking hotel room all decked out in dark brown with orange wallpaper the color of a Popsicle that had white bubbles on it in periodic intervals. Add that to the neon green bedspread and it was almost puke worthy. Dean was here in Destin, Montana because there had been a string of murders over the past few months, all on the night of the full moon. Daniel had guessed that it was one of the new strain of werewolves but whoever or whatever was doing to killing needed to be stopped. Dean, going stir crazy from doing nothing but training and moping around the house debating on whether or not to call Sam, had volunteered for the task. "Listen, I'm about unpacked and I'll head into the local bar to see if I can meet anyone you might know something about the killings. I'll call you tomorrow morning."

"You'd better kid," Daniel said. "Or I'll be hunting you down come morning."

"Fair enough," Dean said, knowing it was worry he was really hearing, and hung up the phone. Then, keys to the Impala in hand, he headed out of the dingy hotel room. The sun was just setting on the last night before the full moon as Dean stepped into the Golden Bonnet, the local bar. A few older people, probably locals who frequented the bar, cast him curious glances but no one else so much as looked up as he made his way toward the bar. Music, some kind of country ballad, hummed out of speakers as he ordered a beer and glanced around. Just a few feet away from him were three people about his age. Two were women and the third a man. One woman had her blonde hair cut in a short bob that just brushed her chin. Her eyes were wide, blue, and expressive, and her lips pale pink. She was tall and slim but not really curvy although she was pretty in a bright red clingy top and denim skirt. The man had his arms around her waist as he stood behind her, chin on her head. He had shaggy brown hair, longer than Dean had ever seen on Sammy in close to twenty-one years, and darker blue eyes than the blonde.

The other girl was more Dean's type with long caramel colored locks that fell just to her breasts and dark brown eyes. Her red lips were pulled up in a half amused, half exasperated smile as she surveyed the couple. When the man twisted around to kiss the blonde she declared loudly, "Yuck! Get a room!" Dean snorted through a mouthful of beer and she gave him a smile as the couple blushed. "Hi there sweetie," she said, turning to offer him her hand. "I'm Morgan Stanley." He kissed her fingers lightly and she flushed slightly, looking a little flustered when he flashed her a smile.

"Dean Porter," he said, using the fake last name on his id.

"Nice to meet you," she managed finally, still looking charmed before turning back to glare at her friends. The blonde was giggling and the guy smirking.

"I'm Olivia Marshall," the blonde said, offering a fluttery wave to Dean as a greeting. "And this is my boyfriend, Nate Burke." Dean and Nate shook hands while Morgan punched Olivia in the shoulder, still looking flustered. "So what do you do Dean?" Olivia asked once the greetings were out of the way.

"I'm a freelance reporter," Dean said. "Right now I'm working on a story about the killings going on around here."

"The murders?" Morgan asked and when Dean nodded her brown eyes sparkled. "We can tell you about them. Olivia lives right next door, or lived I guess, to one of the victims."

"If you don't mind," Dean said to Olivia but the blonde was already shaking her head.

"Not at all," she said, linking fingers with Nate. "I live next door to the Lances, or did. They were the first murder victims. They were found in the woods just behind their house torn to shreds and the night it happened I heard howling outside really close to the house. They probably went outside to see what was making all the noise."

"Then there was Mary Kennedy," Nate added, squeezing Olivia's hand. "She lived next door to my grandmother and she said it was the same deal. Heard the howling and was found the next day torn to shreds. Alice Hoffman and David Adelmyer too."

"Louis Anderson lived down the street from me," Morgan chimed in. "He went to the door and everyone heard the screams when he was dragged away."

"Front or back door, do you know?" Dean asked, scribbling everything down.

"Back door," Morgan said, sounding sure. "Because if it had been the front everyone would have seen what it was dragging him away past the streetlights."

"Jaynie Prescott was the last one," Olivia finished in a hushed voice. "She lives right next to the park and the babysitter wasn't paying attention so she wandered off. The babysitter, a friend of ours named Lauren, found her in the park ten minutes later torn in half."

"The cops think it's a serial killer," Nate chimed in, using the same hushed voice his girlfriend had. "Maybe some psycho that thinks he or she is a werewolf but they don't have any suspects. People come and go in Destin. Even the locals don't tend to stay long past high school." That was when Dean's phone began to ring, breaking the moment. Olivia jumped and then she and Morgan giggled. "Don't worry," Nate teased Olivia, hugging her close. "I'll save you from the big bad cell phone." Dean grinned and then frowned when he saw Daniel's number on the display. Why would Daniel be calling him now?

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "But I have to take this. It's my boss and if he's calling at half past one in the morning it's probably urgent."

"No problem," Morgan said for the ground, grabbing a napkin and scribbling first her number and then the other two's on it. "Here's our numbers in case you need anything."

"Thank you Morgan," he said, smiling at her. "Olivia and Nate. It was nice meeting you."

"Bye," Olivia called after him as he headed out the door, already flipping the phone open and pressing it to his ear. 

"What is it?" he asked in the sudden silence outside the bar.

"Your father just called," Daniel said, sounding tired.

" _What?_ " Dean asked, shocked. He had figured there would be enough evidence at the scene to declare him dead to John but it seemed that his father didn't always make the rational assumption when it came to his children.

"He's been looking everywhere for you," Daniel continued. "Apparently he dug out my number and called me up to ask if I'd seen you in the past month. I told him no, of course, but you'll need to be careful."

"I will," Dean promised, already heading for the Impala. "Thank you." Then he hung up, mind whirring a hundred miles a minute as he tried to figure out what to do next.

Dean's dreams that night were haunted by his father and brother, both searching frantically for him. In every dream he was a wolf lurking in the shadows, unable to come out and tell them where he was for fear that they'd kill him. He spent the next day trying to forget the nightmares and talking to everyone he could about the attacks, even hunting down the Lauren that Olivia had mentioned the night before. By the time the full moon rose he was in the woods and armed with as much knowledge as he could scrounge up from the citizens of the town. The first few minutes of the change were painful but then his body seemed to melt into something different. The shadows cleared some, allowing him to see better, and he sucked in a breath full of forest scents. There wasn't any sign of the werewolf in question here but Dean wasn't worried. He would spend the night canvasing the town, hoping he could find the killer before they struck again.

Destin wasn't a large town but it was big enough that it took Dean some time to traverse, especially with the local police on the lookout for a serial killer. If they saw him they might blame their troubles on some rabid wolf wandering too close to civilization and try to kill him. Then the real culprit would escape and Dean would be forced to wait for another month before he could go after the werewolf again. He was beginning to give up when he caught the hint of a scent, at once familiar and unique. He couldn't quite place where he'd scented it before. Gardenia wasn't usually a favored perfume though any girl at the bar might have been wearing it. Or anyone he'd interviewed earlier in the day. Then the howling started. For a moment it sounded so mournful that Dean hesitated, unsure what to do. Then a scream rent the air and he was running as fast as he could through yards and leaping over fences.

Because of all the obstacles the police arrived at the scene first. Dean, watching from the woods, knew he was too late already. The killer had struck again and he could smell copper and salt, human blood, from where he crouched in the woods. The scent covered everything, even the smell of the other wolf, and the area was too crowded to search for it. He'd hesitated and it had cost someone their life, all because the howl had sounded lonely. Dean berated himself the entire trek back to his hotel room, arriving in time to shift back into human form and sneak naked into his hotel room to collapse under the neon green covers of the bed and pass into dreamland.

He woke in the middle of the afternoon when sunlight sliced through even the thick brown curtains he'd drawn shut the night before. He groaned and fumbled for his cell phone, dialing Daniel's number by memory with his eyes mostly closed. "Elkins," came the gruff answer after the second ring.

"It's me," Dean mumbled sitting up slowly and blinking owlishly as he glared at the curtains.

"How'd it go?" Daniel asked immediately.

"I got there too late," Dean said, hanging his head and staring at his bare feet, white against the contrast of the dark brown carpet. "I'll get it tonight."

"Okay," Daniel agreed and Dean heard the sound of metal even over the phone. The other man was probably cleaning his guns in case Dean called later and said he needed help. Dean hung up the phone and headed for the shower. Twenty minutes later he was in a small restaurant when he saw the newspaper headline; _LOCAL MAN LATEST VICTIM_. Below that was a picture of Nate Burke. And in that moment of wide eyed horror everything began to slip into place.


	6. She's A Devil In Disguise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Characters;** Dean Winchester, Morgan Stanley, Olivia Marshall,Mrs. Marshall, Daniel Elkins
> 
> **Pairings;** Dean Winchester/Morgan Stanley, past Olivia Marshall/ Nate Burke
> 
> **Summary;** She was evil disguised as an angel and he'd been a fool to think she'd ever been anything else.

_She's A Devil In Disguise_

"I didn't think you'd ever call," Morgan told him, twirling a strand of caramel colored hair around one finger. "I mean, you seemed pretty preoccupied when your boss called. But I hoped..." She cut herself off, face flushing.

"Sorry," Dean apologized. "I didn't mean to leave you hanging. I've just been busy doing interviews."

"So I've heard. Every eligible woman in Destin is talking about you," Morgan replied with a sly grin. "Well, except for Olivia." Her face fell at the mention of her blonde friend.

"How is she?" Dean asked and Morgan's face fell further.

"Not good. She's taking Nate's death hard. She just been sitting in her room drowning in the smell of that gardenia perfume he got her a couple years ago."

"How are you holding up?" Dean asked, trying to resist the pull of the full moon which was just now rising in the sky. "He was your friend too."

"Better than Olivia," she said with a sigh. "But mostly because I haven't known Nate as long. This was only the third time I'd seen him." Dean nodded, reaching over to take Morgan's hand. She flushed and smiled at him gratefully. 

"Want to go for a walk?" Dean asked and Morgan nodded, keeping her fingers linked with his. Walking in the moonlight was more difficult than ignoring its pull inside but so far Dean was managing it. He and Morgan made their way down deserted side streets, the whole time Dean hoping he was wrong. Hoping that what he suspected wasn't true.

"You know what?" Morgan said suddenly, stopping and turning to face him with a sly smile on her face. "You're a real sweetheart." Then she leaned forward, pulling his head down, and kissed him. "You know that?" she asked when she pulled away and this time Dean was the one who kissed her. That was when he smelled it. Overwhelmingly gardenias. "It's too bad you have to die," Morgan said, pulling away and skipping back a couple steps with a sly grin, the change already rippling through her. Dean didn't wait to see if she changed all the way. Instead he shifted. Morgan froze for a moment, shocked, and then shifted too, taking off into the night. Dean didn't bother following her, already knowing where she was going. Olivia's house.

He'd pieced it together slowly in his hotel room, adding up everything from Morgan's sly smiles at Nate to the way he seemed almost nervous around her. Morgan and Nate had probably been dating before Olivia, or worse yet Nate had been cheating on Olivia, and Morgan had wanted him for herself. When he'd turned her down she'd killed him. He didn't know why she had killed the others, wasn't sure he wanted to know, but he chased after her anyway. He may have liked her but she had to be stopped.

Olivia's house was silent when he arrived, the only sign of life a light in an upstairs window. He sat in the shadows then and waited. Moments later a dark brown wolf arrived, smaller than Dean and less bulky. It peered around in the darkness but Dean had made sure he was downwind and he was fairly certain he was out of sight. After a moment the wolf sat back on its haunches and howled. There was a moment of silence and then the wolf howled again but Olivia didn't come down. "Good girl," Dean thought as he watched. "Don't come down." Morgan let out another, more demanding howl, and the front door opened. A woman who looked like an older version of Olivia with grey streaks in her hair stood framed in the light from the doorway. Then she saw the wolf and screamed as Morgan lunged.

Dean lunged too, crashing into Morgan, and then both slammed into a flowerpot by the side of the house. Morgan twisted around, more nimble than Dean would probably ever be able to manage with his larger frame, and was already heading for Mrs. Marshall when Dean caught her tail between his teeth. Morgan yelped, spinning around and snapping at him, but he dodged out of the way. The door slammed behind them and Morgan whirled around with a snarl of rage. Dean snapped at her, catching her back leg, and she yowled, twisting around to bite his shoulder. He growled and bit deeper, tasting blood gushing into his mouth. Morgan yelped, releasing him, and he let go, trying to get a bite at her throat. No such luck. Morgan was faster than he had anticipated.

Sirens howled down the street and if Dean had been human he would have cursed. Instead he lunged snarling at Morgan again. "Get out of the way kid!" Daniel's gruff snap sent Dean scrambling away. Daniel raised the gun, aimed at Morgan who was lunging for Dean with her teeth bared, and fired. Morgan collapsed, body convulsing, and Dean couldn't stop the whine that escaped. "Come on kid," Daniel said, expression sympathetic as Morgan convulsed and gasped on the ground. "Let's get out of here before the cops show up."


	7. Unexpected Phone Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Characters;** Sam Winchester, Jessica Moore, John Winchester
> 
> **Pairings;** Sam Winchester/Jessica Moore
> 
> **Summary;** He'd never expected to hear from his father again.

_Unexpected Phone Call_

Sam stepped inside he and Jess's apartment and dumped his backpack on the floor. It hit the ground with a dull thump, tipping over to lean against the wall as he shut the door behind him. "Jess? You home?" he called, not really surprised when she didn't answer. About every other week Jess worked afternoons at a local coffee shop and Sam, despite his ability to remember the most minute details from his law books, couldn't ever remember which week was which. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and flipped it back on, heading toward the kitchen. Whenever she left before he got back from class, Jess always left a sticky note on the fridge. He was almost there when his phone rang.

Sam pulled it out and answered automatically, expected it to be Becky complaining about her internship at a local law office or Zack asking something about the homework for the evening. "Yeah?" he said, tucking the phone between his ear and shoulder as he pulled open the fridge and brought out a bottle of orange juice. Jess loved the stuff and so, for her sake, he tolerated it. Wrinkling his nose he shoved it back in and fished for a water bottle. "Hello?" he tried when he realized no one had answered him, placing the bottle of water on the counter and kicking the fridge door closed. He was about to pull his phone away from his ear to check and see if the call was still connected when he got an answer.

"Sammy?" For a moment he was shocked into silence. Then anger began to boil in his gut and he felt his cheeks begin to burn.

"It's Sam," he said coldly. "You lost the right to call me Sammy when you threw me out."

"Listen Sam," John Winchester began, voice harsh, but Sam cut him off.

"No you listen," he snapped. "This had better be pretty damn important because otherwise I'm hanging up on you and getting a restraining order on your ass." He knew he sounded like Dean but in that moment he didn't care. Sam was far too furious. How dare his father call him after all this time? After throwing him out on the street?

"It's Dean," John said, sounding more tired than Sam had ever heard him before. The anger drained away like water into dirt and was replaced by a haunting chill.

"What?" Sam asked urgently. "What is it? Is he hurt? Dying?"

"He-" John paused and Sam waited with baited breath for the response, hardly registering Jess's entrance to their apartment. "He's missing Sam."

"Missing?"

"He's been gone for a month," John admitted. "Vanished without a trace after leaving a bar with a girl. I've been searching everywhere, hoping to find him without having to bring you in and tear you away from your new life. I'm so sorry Sam."

"Where are you?" Sam demanded, mind racing a mile a minute. John told him. Sam hung up the phone.

"Sam, are you okay?" Jess stood in the doorway to the kitchen with wide eyes. Sam suddenly felt every muscle in his frame go limp as he slumped against the kitchen counter, phone held loosely in one hand. "Sam, what's wrong?"

"I have a lot to tell you Jess," he said finally. "And I'm not so sure that you're not going to hate me when I'm done."

"Sam?" Jessica asked again, stepping closer. "It can't be that bad," she tried when he didn't speak.

"You know how I never told you what my dad and brother did?" Sam asked and Jess nodded warily. "Well I'm about to but I have to start from the beginning. Six months after I was born my mother died in a fire but it wasn't an ordinary fire. My dad came into my room in time to see her pinned to the ceiling. She burst into flames and then he started digging. He wanted to know why Mom had died that way and he found an answer." Jess stepped closer, linking her fingers with his. "There are monsters out there Jess; creatures that should only exist in legends and nightmares. My brother and dad hunt them and I did too before I ran away to become normal. Now Dean's gone missing and Dad needs my help to find him and I can't say no because Dean gave up everything for me when we were little and he deserves at least this much from me. I'm sorry if you think I'm crazy and if you want our relationship to end after this," Sam said in a rush, staring down at the floor. 

He waited for the feeling of Jess's fingers slipping out of his. Waited for the sound of her running out of the apartment. Instead she said softly, "Sam?" He looked into her eyes then and saw nothing but confusion and compassion. "Are you telling the truth?"

"Yes," he said, stomach twisting in knots. "I am." Jessica studied him for several long minutes with the same expression she reserved solely for the purpose of telling if one of the kids at the preschool she helped out at was lying or not.

"I believe you," she said finally and Sam's breath escaped in a sigh of relief. "So you're going to help your dad find Dean?" 

"Yes," Sam told her. "Dean gave up his childhood to make sure that I got one. I at least owe him this much."

"Is there-" Jess cut herself off, slipping her fingers free from his to pace the kitchen for a moment and then turning to stare at him with nervous eyes. "Is there some way I can protect the apartment while you're gone?"

"Yes," Sam answered immediately. "I'll help you. As long as you don't let anyone unfamiliar or anyone acting strange into the house you'll be safe." Jess smiled weakly at him and he smiled back. "I love you Jess."

"I love you too Sam," she answered immediately, her nervous smile fading away to a true one for a moment before heading off to the bathroom.


	8. Roadkill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Characters;** Dean Winchester, Daniel Elkins, Molly McNamara, David McNamara, Jonah Greely
> 
> **Pairings;** Molly McNamara/David McNamara
> 
> **Summary;** He wasn't sure he was ready to do this.

_Roadkill_

Highway 41 in the middle of nowhere, Nevada was almost eerie at night. Especially a night where, according to Daniel Elkins a ghost picked some innocent driving down the road to pay for his death fifteen years ago. Dean sighed and shifted his weight uncomfortably on the cold ground. It was a full moon night and he hadn't yet shifted, knowing he wouldn't be able to stop Jonah Greely, the ghost in question, as a wolf. He slipped his cell out of his pocket and dialed Daniel from memory, keeping his eyes on the road as he listened to it ring.

"What?" Daniel grumbled over the phone. "It's almost two in the morning kid."

"Are you sure this is the right highway?" Dean grumbled back. "I haven't seen _anything_."

"And you can't shift so you're getting impatient," Daniel finished. "Yes I'm sure it's the right highway." Dean grumbled under his breath and Daniel laughed. "It's just one night kid. You'll survive."

"Right," Dean mumbled and then froze as headlights pierced the darkness. "Hold on Daniel, I'll call you back." He hung up in time for the car to go swerving off the edge of the road opposite from where he was hiding. Jonah Greely laughed once in the darkness and then vanished as Dean scrambled up the ditch, across the road, and then down the other one. The car was stuck against a tree when Dean arrived, two figures lying limply in it. The one in the passenger seat stirred, smelling like fresh blood, but the one in the driver's seat, wasn't moving. From a few feet away Dean could only hear one heartbeat. The woman in the passenger seat moaned as Dean warily crept closer.

"David?" she asked, voice thick as blood dripped down from her head a nose. to her mouth.

"Are you okay?" Dean asked as he approached her, body tense as a wire.

"David?" she called again, reaching out a shaking hand toward the man in the driver's seat, fingers fumbling for a pulse. She let out a choked sob when she couldn't find one and then shifted her head toward Dean. "Is David-"

"I'm sorry," Dean said, crouching next to her, and she sobbed again. She looked like she was around Dean's age with shoulder length brown hair and dark brown eyes. Tears dripped down her cheeks, mingling with blood in long red trails. "You need to get out of here," Dean continued, even though he hated to press her while she was in mourning but he knew that Jonah Greely's ghost would be back for her. "It isn't safe to stay here."

"No," the woman insisted. "I need to stay with David!"

"I'm sorry but David didn't make it," Dean said, trying to keep the nervousness and impatience out of his voice. "And you won't either if you stay here!"

"W-what do you mean?" she asked.

"That man who ran in front of you, Jonah Greely, he isn't alive anymore," Dean said. "He hasn't been for fifteen years. He was killed in a hit and run accident on this very road and now he comes back on this night every year to find someone to punish for his accident. He's a ghost. That's how he just appeared out of nowhere in front of you."

"W-w-why me?" the woman sobbed. "Why David?"

"I don't know," Dean admitted. "I'm so sorry but I don't know. Now we have to get out of here."

"O-okay," the woman said, reaching her hand over to brush the man's cheek one more time before trying to slide over. Dean winced as she cried out in pain. "My legs! I can't feel my legs!"

"Maybe it's just because they're pinned," Dean suggested. "Let me help you." She nodded, tears dripping down her cheeks, and Dean slowly began sliding her out of the car. The woman let out an anguished scream and Dean froze.

"It-it's okay," she gasped out, breathing coming in stops and starts. Dean could hear her heartbeat stuttering as she gasped. "J-just get me o-out."

"Okay," Dean said, taking a deep breath and then pulling her out. She screamed as he laid her out the ground and her breath came in ragged gasps. Dean could see fresh blood staining he shirt. Some of her ribs had caved in, piercing her lungs. She was dying. The smell of blood was almost overwhelming, especially since it was a full moon. _A full moon_. It suddenly dawned on Dean that he could save her. 

"It's n-not your f-fault," the woman said, mistaking his silence for guilt.

"What's your name?" Dean asked her, knowing that he couldn't on clean conscience change her without her permission.

"Molly," she gasped out. "M-molly McNamara. D-david is my husband." Her husband. Dean winced, realizing that maybe Molly wouldn't want to live without him.

"I can save you Molly," Dean said. "But it has to be your choice."

"W-what do you m-mean?" Molly asked.

"I'm a werewolf," Dean admitted. "One of the kind that shifts all the way. I can change you to save your life or I can call 9-1-1 but you probably won't make the night. It's up to you." He waited in silence as Molly considered it. Her eyes closed for a moment and then opened, filled with determination.

"David w-would want me to l-live if possible," she said. "D-do it." Now it was Dean's turn to close his eyes. Part of him had hoped that Molly would say she wanted to die because he wasn't sure he could do this. It had cost Lukas, Noah, and Lily their lives. It had turned Morgan into a monster. There was no guarantee that next month Molly wouldn't betray him or end up dead. Still he couldn't back out now. Dean let his teeth shift and bite down near Molly's collarbone. She moaned and then gasped. Her eyes closed for a moment and Dean felt a chill wash over him. Then her eyes snapped open and she screamed. Dean spun to see Jonah Greely standing behind him. He cussed as the ghost lunged at Molly, reaching for the salt packets he'd shoved in his pocket as insurance against the angry ghost. He yanked a packet out, ripping it open and flinging it on Jonah. The ghost vanished but Dean knew he wasn't gone for good.

"Molly," he said. "I have to go get rid of Jonah Greely's body so that he'll leave you alone." He was yanking the salt packets out of his pockets and he piled them next to Molly. "If he comes back throw salt on him. This is almost over Molly, I promise." Then he was sprinting across the road to where he'd hidden the Impala. His fingers shook as he unlocked the trunk and lifted the secret compartment to reveal his weapons cache. He pulled out a shotgun already loaded with rock salt and a bag already packed with gasoline, more rock salt, and matches. He slammed the trunk shut, shoved the keys in his pocket, and headed in the direction Daniel had theorized that Greely's house might be at.

The entire trek toward Greely's shack, his mind was with Molly. The beginnings of the change would start soon and with all the pain of her body knitting itself back together she might not be able to protect herself if Greely came for her. Worst still was the thought of what would happen if Dean didn't make it through this hunt. Molly wouldn't know where to go, who to confide in, or how her first shift would go. She'd be completely alone, all because he hadn't told her where to find Daniel if something went wrong. But he didn't have time to think of a backup plan because suddenly he could see Greely's house and he needed to focus on finding the body.

Chances were good that Jonah's wife, before she had vanished never to be seen from again, had buried him somewhere on the property. His first breaths of the surrounding air smelled like rot and fresh corpses. Jonah Greely had obviously been busy for the past fifteen February 20th's. Dean pushed the scent of rot away and crouched low to the earth, searching for an older death scent; rot and bones. 

It took a while for him to find it. Too long actually because he kept listening for Molly's screams or any sign that Jonah had caught up with her. Instead it was all silence. He dug up the body, salted, and burned it as quickly as he could, leaving the hole open and all but sprinting back to where he'd left Molly. She was still there and had healed faster than he'd expected but at some point in time she'd passed out. Probably after salting Jonah once judging by the empty salt packets scattered around her. Dean sighed and headed for the Impala, taking his time now that he knew she was safe. By the time he returned to carry her back to the vehicle she was muttering and her eyes were moving behind closed eyelids. He called 9-1-1 then, telling them there was car wreck and the precise location before hanging up and dialing Daniel.

"Did you get 'im kid?" Daniel asked the instant he answered the phone.

"Yeah," Dean replied, glancing at Molly in the back seat. "But I'm bringing back company. I'll explain when I get there."

There was a long silence and then Daniel said, "Drive safe" and hung up on him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the beginning of the timeline finagling because I really loved Molly's character in _Roadkill_ but if I left the timeline as it was Dean would have never been there in time to save her. Needless to say this won't be the last time I screw around with the timeline but I'll try to put a note in when I do.


	9. Facing The Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Characters;** Jessica Moore, Sam Winchester
> 
> **Pairings;** Jessica Moore/Sam Winchester
> 
> **Summary;** Ever since he left she'd been doing research.

_Facing The Truth_

Jessica Moore prided herself on not being gullible. She never took rumors at face value, laughed off the ridiculous, and generally enjoyed a life free from the stupid feeling that came when you were fooled. The result of years of living like that had made her wary of conmen and confidant in her ability to tell if someone was telling the truth. But she had doubted her ability when Sam had started babbling about hunting things that went bump in the dark and staring at the floor as if he wished it would swallow him up before Jess started yelling at him for telling a bad joke. For her part, Jessica had been shocked into silence by Sam's uncharacteristic behavior.

Ordinarily, when presenting facts, Sam was completely confidant. He could even look professors in the eyes and spout complete and utter crap and sound like it was the honest to God truth. This time, however, he'd had a hard time meeting her eyes. When he finally had looked up Jess had been shocked by his look. It hadn't been deceitful or amused. It had been honest and wary and sad, like he expected her to run screaming or to call the cops or do something drastic. That was when Jess knew she believed him.

In the hours that followed, Sam showed Jess how to guard the house, filled her mind with warnings and I love yous, and packed. Then he left her alone in a silent house with several books on supernatural creatures, a promise to call every evening, and a nonstop sense of paranoia. Since then Jess had started researching and now, three days in, she hadn't yet stopped. After reading through the five thick books that Sam had left behind, or at least skimming them and taking sloppy notes on a large yellow legal pad, she began searching things on Google. What she discovered was enough to sway her toward a belief of her own rather than just trust of Sam.

Hidden behind the typical fairytale or mythological facades were dozens of creatures that haunted humanities darkest nightmares. From vengeful spirits of murderers or murder victims that came back to extract their vengeance on the living to humans that were forced to consume human flesh during harsh winter voyages and eventually grew to crave the extra strength and powers it gave them, the darker side of the web was full of monsters that shouldn't exist. She found everything from tales of Rakshasa, an invisible creature creature that had to be killed with brass, to shapeshifters that took on the physical appearance and memory of someone you might have known. The information made her wary of walking around alone at night and unwilling to let anyone in after dark, friendly or not.

Perhaps most disturbing to Jess, who came from a Catholic family (though not a strict one), was the speculation on angels and demons. It wasn't so much the fact that demons existed on this earth that bothered her. Jess had never doubted that the devil was active in this world. She saw evidence of that in everyday living and how broken this world was sometimes. It didn't much surprise her to hear that demons escaped Hell and walked around in human bodies they referred to as "meat suits". What actually disturbed her was the distinct lack of belief in angels.

Jess was nowhere near as good at computer programming as Sam was so she couldn't entirely access the secret forums she discovered but she could see enough to read over and over again the sentiment that angels didn't exist. People all across this secret part of the internet consistently said that there was no proof that angels existed. Sure there was plenty of angel lore but there was no solid proof that they existed. Jess, who had always believed there were angels watching over them, wondered now if Sam believed in angels or not.

She hadn't yet told Sam that she was doing research beyond what he had left her. She hadn't because every night when he called his voice always sounded nervous, as if he thought she was just humoring him until she could figure out where he was to call the police or people with straightjackets to come for him. Today though, she was ready to tell him. She glanced at her silent cell phone sitting next to her now cold cup of coffee and then at the ticking clock on the far wall. It was a quarter after eleven which meant that Sam would call any minute now. She turned back to her computer and the current speculation on whether a death in a small Illinois town had been natural, which meant human or natural causes Jess had discovered, or if the cause was something more sinister. The current guess was natural causes but Jess was guessing it was something more sinister. From all the research she'd done, it was her guess that it was a Wendigo but that was just judging by newspaper descriptions. Those that had been there firsthand walked the line between sure there was something paranormal and sure it was ordinary.

Her phone rang, tearing Jess away from the ongoing speculation on the private blog to answer it. She'd been invited to this particular blog after two days of digging by the person who ran it; a woman named Ellen. Jess had been wary to open the unknown email but it had simply been a question from Ellen about why she was looking into private forums about paranormal creatures. Jess had hesitated but in the end she had used her coding knowledge to code her email to Ellen, telling the other woman that her boyfriend was a hunter who'd just now told her the truth and she was curious. In response, Ellen had invited her officially to the blog. Jess had logged on several times since them and kept an eye out for more emails from Ellen.

"Hello?" Jess said when she answered, realizing she hadn't checked to see who had called her before she picked up.

"Hey Jess," Sam said and Jess could hear the smile in his voice. It made her feel good; that she could make him smile just by talking to him. Sam had been awkward when they first started dating; blushing and stuttering and staring at Jess like she was an angel who'd chosen to fall in love with a human.

"How are you?" she asked, feeling a smile spread across her face. The obvious love in Sam's voice always made her smile and feel warm inside.

"Good," Sam replied. "Just a little tired."

"Any luck finding Dean?"

"Not yet." 

They sat in comfortable silence for a minute before Jess got up the courage to say, "I've been doing some research."

"For a paper?" Sam asked, sounding genuinely interested.

"No," Jess said warily, unsure how he would take the news. "On the stuff you told me about. And on what was in the books."

"And?" Sam asked, sounding just as wary as Jess felt.

"How do you live knowing that those kind of monsters are _real_?" Jess blurted and then waited in nervous silence.

"I don't know," Sam said finally. "It helps knowing how to defend myself against them but it's still hard. It does get better though Jess."

"What does?" Jess asked, a little sharper than she had intended, and his laugh warmed her from the inside out.

"The paranoia."

"Good," she replied, grinning. "Otherwise our friends are going to send me to a psych ward." Sam laughed again and Jess found herself laughing in response.

"I'm sorry for dumping all that on you," he told her. "It wasn't how I would have chosen to tell you."

"You wouldn't have told me at all if it had been up to you," Jess accused but her voice was warm. "It's all right Sam. I love you anyway and nothing is going to change that."

"Love you too Jess," Sam said, sounding overwhelmed. That night Jess went to bed smiling.


	10. Talk Therapy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Characters;** Dean Winchester, Daniel Elkins, Molly McNamara
> 
> **Pairings;** past Molly McNamara/David McNamara
> 
> **Summary;** She was dealing, but not as well as he'd hoped.

_Talk Therapy_

By the time Dean got himself and the unconscious Molly McNamara into Daniel's home he was exhausted. He laid Molly on the couch and sank down into Daniel's ancient armchair, managing a grunt of affirmation when the owner of the house himself came down to ask if everything went okay. Then he was out, unable to keep his eyes open a moment longer. He wasn't sure how long he slept, only that he woke to the sound of sobbing. Forcing his eyes open, Dean tilted his head to see Molly crying on the couch. Her shoulders heaved and one hand clutched a gold locket at her throat. "Molly?" he asked and she flinched slightly, glancing over at him with tear stained eyes.

"Sorry," she mumbled but he waved her apology off with a heavy hand.

"No problem," he mumbled, managing a tired smile. "You okay?" That was when the dam broke and Molly started sobbing again. Dean forced himself out of the chair to sit next to Molly, rubbing circles in her back. Finally her sobs wound down into hitching breaths. "You want to talk?" Dean asked her and waited patiently in the silence. Dealing with Sam for years had taught him that some people just needed to talk out their issues.

"David and I were going to visit my parents," she said finally. "We've been married for two years. No kids yet, but we hoped." She paused, breath turning to a hitching sob, and then calmed again. "He made a wrong turn." Her lips pulled into a rueful smile then. "I tried to tell him that we were going the wrong way but he kept insisting we were going to right way. I'd finally gotten him convinced that we needed to turn around when that ghost, Greely, ran in front of us. David swerved to miss him." Another pause and another hard sob. "The next thing I remember is waking up and not knowing what was going on." Dean flinched slightly at that. He could just imagine how he would feel if he'd been in an accident and didn't know what had happened to Sam; panic.

"I know this is hard," Dean said finally. "I wish I could tell you I know exactly what you're going through but I can't. It'll get better though Molly. I promise." Molly sobbed again, tears dripping down her cheeks, and Dean heard the familiar sound of Daniel Elkins' tread on the floor.

"He's right miss," Daniel said, voice surprisingly tender. "I lost my wife Mindy years ago, to cancer. For a while I'd wake up and expect to see her there and when she wasn't I'd be sad all over again. But it gets better." Molly nodded shakily, taking the handkerchief Daniel offered her and wiping away the tears. "So who are you miss?" Daniel asked her.

"Molly," she replied. "Molly McNamara. And I guess I'm a werewolf."

"Well welcome to the club then," Daniel said with dry humor and, for the first time since he'd met her, Molly smiled. Yes, it was a weak one, but it was a smile all the same. "My house evidently has become a werewolf hotspot," Daniel grumbled under his breath as he headed for the kitchen, already rustling with the coffee maker. Dean snorted. "Shut up kid," Daniel called from the kitchen.

"It's Dean," he called back, exasperated, as Molly settled back on the couch, eyes already drifting closed. Yawning widely, Dean slipped back into the chair and was asleep before Daniel could reply.


	11. Blackmailed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Characters;** Dean Winchester, Molly McNamara, Daniel Elkins, Josiah Holland, Joy Carpenter, Derrick Marker, Alyssa Holland, Jessica Moore
> 
> **Pairings;** Jessica Moore/Sam Winchester
> 
> **Summary;** He was in trouble now.

_Blackmailed_

Molly McNamara was getting to be a total pain. He'd only known her for about a month and in that time she'd changed from a woman who had just lost her husband to a woman determined to keep creatures like Jonah Greely from doing to other people what the vengeful ghost had done to her and David. That meant Dean and Daniel had spent a month training her. Now, the first day of the full moon, Dean was sitting at Daniel's kitchen table enjoying his coffee when Molly dropped a newspaper clipping in front of him. "I think I've found something," she said, absently brushing her hair away from her face. "People have been dying or going missing not two hours from here."

Dean pulled the article to him and skimmed it but it didn't take him long to realize that Molly had hit the jackpot. There had been a rash of deaths in a town not far from Manning and all the victims had been mauled by animals. "Pack up then," he said, shoving the coffee away with a rueful sigh. "We're going hunting."

"Good," Molly said briskly, brushing by Daniel to head for the stairs.

"You find a case?" he asked Dean.

"Molly did. Not two hours from here. Werewolves," Dean replied, standing. "You want in."

"You're gonna need me if you need hands for anything," Daniel said gruffly which Dean accepted as a yes. Two hours later they were parked by the edge of a woods unloading their gear. "You sure this is the spot?" Daniel asked and Dean glanced at Molly.

"Yes," she said patiently. "I only checked about four hundred times before we left." The eye roll was obvious in her voice but she at least had enough grace not to actually roll her eyes. Dean agreed with her once he'd pulled in a breath. The scent was everywhere, hanging off trees and along the ground. There had been wolves here for a while. And not ordinary wolves; _werewolves_.

"Oh yeah," he said, glaring impatiently at the sky. "We're going hunting tonight."

"Patience grasshopper," Daniel said with an amused smile. Dean, who didn't have as much grace as Molly, did roll his eyes. "Let's get a hotel room and a game plan for the night." Dean reluctantly agreed, a fact that had Molly making fun of him the entire way to the local hotel. Twenty minutes later they had a map of the forest stretched out across the bed with a red X where they'd caught the scent of werewolves and black X's where each of the kills had taken place. The final markings were blue circles where people had gone missing. Laid out on the map, they marked a section of the forest close to four miles wide and three miles long. It was a sizable chunk to search. 

"We're never going to find anything on time," Molly grumbled, glaring sourly at the map with the same expression she had used when she couldn't hit a target with Daniel's shotgun.

"We just have to eliminate some areas to search," Dean said, trying to think of everything he knew about predators. "Like where the deaths are happening."

"What do you mean?" Molly asked at the same time Daniel said, "Of course!"

"Most predators don't kill where they live," Dean explained. "It draws unwanted attention to them. So if we eliminate any area where people were killed or taken we have a smaller area to search."

"And the area we stopped at earlier is right at the edge of it," Molly pointed out. "We could start there and reasonably search it in a couple nights."

"Exactly," Dean returned with a satisfied grin.

"Don't let your head get too big," Daniel drawled and Molly laughed, eyes flashing almost golden. Then they all settled in to get ready for the coming hunt. Daniel drifted off to sleep and Molly settled down watching daytime television. Dean, however, found himself pacing. Hunts with Sammy had never seemed to take this long, maybe because Sam was always good for a distraction. Now though, he was stuck in a hotel room with two silent people. He toyed with his phone, considering the idea of calling Sam. It would be good to hear his brother's voice again and Sam wasn't talking to Dad so there was no chance his brother would give him up. That made up his mind for him. Dean was dialing Sam's apartment number before he'd even registered he was dialing.

The phone rang twice and then an unfamiliar female voice answered. "Hello?"

"Hey," Dean said awkwardly. "Is Sam there?"

"Who is this?" the woman demanded.

"This is his brother, Dean," he answered, suddenly feeling worried. "Is Sam all right? Is he hurt?"

"No,no," the girl rushed to reassure him, sounding ridiculously relieved. "He's fine. I was just double checking. You see, he went with his Dad about a month ago to find you."

"Oh," Dean managed to get out, feeling his stomach sink to his feet. "Oh."

"Yeah," the girl said with a laugh. "Oh. I'm Jess by the way. Jessica Moore. I'm Sam's girlfriend."

"Sam finally has a girlfriend," Dean heard himself say, his mind spinning a hundred miles a minute. He was torn between delight and pain. Delight because Sam missed him and was looking for him and pain because he knew he couldn't allow Sam or Dad to find him. Jessica laughed over the phone.

"Yes, Sam has a girlfriend," she informed him, voice rich with amusement. "Nice job stating the obvious. Now let me know where you're at so when Sam calls tonight I can tell him and he can stop worrying."

"Tell Sam I'm out hunting and I'll call him myself tomorrow," Dean told Jess, mind spinning with how he could get out of this. "Thanks Jess." Then he did the only thing he could; he hung up. Then he spent the rest of the time until sunset trying to get his conversation with Jessica out of his mind.

The woods were dark as he and Molly slipped out of Daniel's truck to land with bare feet on the gravel by the side of the road. The moon was already rising high above them as Daniel slipped out to join them. "Holler if you need help," he said as they stepped further into the woods, Molly shuddering already as the change washed over her. Dean's change was finished almost a minute before Molly's. It seemed to be faster and more painless every time he experienced it; a fact that he was extremely grateful for. He felt a flicker of awareness in his mind and glanced automatically at Molly. Her wolf form was light brown and smaller but powerful and her golden eyes glowed with delight. Again he felt a flicker of something, almost a question, and automatically jerked his head toward the woods. 

They ran through the shadows, senses open as they searched for any sign of the werewolves. As the night drifted on they got nothing but hints until finally Dean jerked to a stop, considering a new plan. Maybe if he and Molly split up- The thought was cut off by a flash of dark brown lunging at him. Dean snarled and twisted out of the way of the smaller wolf who snapped at his flank as it lunged by. It was smaller than Dean but larger than Molly, if only just barely. The wolf snapped at him and Dean growled, snapping back and almost catching the wolf by the ruff. The smaller wolf growled and at the same time Molly let out a warning yip. Dean lunged at the smaller wolf, sending it leaping back with a growl. Then he whirled, catching the sent of more wolves.

Experimenting with what he'd felt before between he and Molly, Dean shoved all the urge to run at Molly. She flinched, whining softly, and Dean yipped as the smaller wolf got a bite in on his left foreleg. Her snarled and snapped at it, barely missing a shoulder as it scrambled out of the way. White paws scrambled out of Dean's way as he lunged, shoving the feelings at Molly again. This time she did whirl and run. Dean didn't waste time watching her go. Instead he tackled the smaller wolf, sending it tumbling paws over tail across the rough ground. It scrambled to it's feet again, dark brown body tense, and snarled, baring teeth. White paws, blurred against the ground as the wolf lunged. Dean dodged and snapped again, only to suddenly be faced by three instead of one. The newcomers were black and gold. The gold one was smaller than Molly but lithe and covered in corded muscle. The black one was Dean's size and almost nothing but muscle and fur. It was circling around behind Dean, only pausing to snap at the smaller brown one that slunk back at step. 

The gold wolf stared Dean in the eyes, teeth bared slightly. Dean felt a growl beginning to grow in his chest but before it could escape the golden wolf flicked its head, a motion for him to follow. Dean decided to humor it for now. He followed the gold wolf through the moon drenched woods, the brown wolf flanking him warily and the black one behind him. They reached a small clearing with a couple caves scattered about and an old wood cabin leaning against a cliff face with the door gaping open. As they stepped into the clearing the golden wolf began to shift, rising up to become a golden haired woman. Another woman approached her, a couple years younger, offering her a robe that she slipped over her naked form. "Welcome to our home," she said, smiling coldly at Dean before turning her attention to the other two wolves. "Josiah, Derrick, take our unwanted visitor to the cell area and keep an eye on him. Derrick, come report to me in the morning." Then she turned her attention to the young woman still lurking in her shadow. "Mara?"

"Yes Joy?" the woman asked in a demure voice. 

"Accompany me?" Joy asked, her tone making it clear that she was giving an order and not a request. The young woman, Mara, nodded and followed Joy away. Dean watched them go until the black wolf nudged him sharply with a low growl. Dean followed, obedient for the moment, and allowed himself to be led to a smaller cave just out of sight of the main clearing. He was nudged into the cave, again by the black wolf, and he casually settled down in the cave, keeping an eye on his two guards as the hours drifted by.

Finally the sun began to rise. The black wolf shifted first, powerful frame turning into a man about Dean's age with dark hair and piercing brown eyes. The smaller brown wolf with white paws followed, turning into another man with blonde hair and blue eyes. The woman from earlier, Mara, had returned some time in the night to lay clothes next to them and they dressed quickly, the blonde waiting warily out of arm's reach of the dark haired one. Dean watched, holding his wolf form for a bit longer as he waited. "I'm going to check in on Joy," the dark haired one said, voice a low growl as he closed the distance between himself and the smaller blonde. "Keep an eye on the prisoner. And if he happens to get out..." The man trailed off into ominous silence as the blonde nodded once. It was a jerky, almost angry motion but controlled enough so as not to seem defiant.

Dean watched the dark haired man leave, carefully placing the names from earlier with faces. Joy was the golden haired woman with attitude and obvious authority. That meant Derrick had to be the dark haired one and Josiah the blonde that was currently guarding him. Dean let the shift wash over him then, changing back into human form. As soon as he did a pair of sweatpants and a plaid shirt smacked him in the side, landing in a crumpled heap on the ground. Dean snorted and dressed before making his way up to sit cross legged at the entrance to the cave. His movement made his jail guard tense, tilting his head back to glance at Dean with wary eyes. "Josiah, right?" he said and caught the flinch kid's flinch. "You under orders not to tell me anything?" A wary head shake was his only reply. "Then fill me in," he ordered and saw Josiah shudder.

"On what?" The kid's voice was low and wary and he was avoiding looking Dean in the eyes.

"What's going on here?" Dean demanded. "People are dying and going missing and Joy is just sauntering through the middle of it all like a fucking fairy princess so tell me what's going on!" Josiah actually flinched back like Dean was going to hit him. Instantly Dean felt bad. The kid couldn't be older than nineteen and Dean taking his frustrations out on the kid wasn't going to change the situation.

"They showed up a year ago." Josiah's sudden comment had Dean's head snapping around so he could face the kid. "People just started vanishing for no reason. And then dying." There was a heavy pause and then Josiah moved on, obviously not willing to go into any details. "Joy's in charge, the alpha, but it's Derrick who enforces the rules. They lie, steal, cheat, kill, _blackmail_. Pretty much anything that keeps them on top."

"So what do they have on you?" Dean pressed. Josiah flinched but now that he'd started talking it seemed like he was incapable of stopping.

"My little sister, Alyssa." His voice was low and hopeless, gaze fixed on the ground.

"So do you know what Joy intends to do with me?" Dean asked warily, unsure he wanted to know the answer.

"She's going to fight you," Josiah said in a dead voice. "When the moon is full tonight. One on one. Just her and you and everyone watching."

"Why?"

"Because she feels threatened by you," Josiah answered.

"But why?" Dean demanded. "Why would she feel threatened by _me_?"

"Because you're an alpha." There was a long pause as Dean absorbed that information.

"What?" he asked finally.

"You're an alpha. You're a threat to her power just by being here," Josiah said in a low voice. "And she has to prove she's more powerful than you by killing you."

"Son of a bitch!" Dean snapped, glare absently at the ceiling above him.

"It gets worse," Josiah informed him. "If, on the off chance you do succeed and kill Joy, Derrick will be after you in a heartbeat and he'll rip you apart."

"Spilling secrets now are you?" Josiah twisted at the new voice, lunging to his feet only to be grabbed by the throat and slammed into the cave wall. Derrick was massive, easily looming over Josiah's smaller frame.

"No," Josiah hissed out, eyes defiant despite the fear Dean could see reflected in them. "Nothing I was told not to tell."

"We'll see about that," Derrick growled, shifting his grip from Josiah's throat to his shirt collar and dragging him off. "Amy, Lena, keep watch and don't tell the prisoner anything!" Dean didn't so much as twitch as the two girls took there places, eyes fixed on Josiah's tense form. Somehow he was going to save all these people. He wasn't sure how but he had Molly and Daniel out in the woods somewhere looking for him and he was Dean Winchester, master of the impossible. He was going to do this, somehow.


	12. White Lies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Characters;** John Winchester, Sam Winchester, Jessica Moore
> 
> **Pairings;** Sam Winchester/Jessica Moore
> 
> **Summary;** His brother had called his girlfriend?

_White Lies_

"We'll find him Sammy," John said for what felt like the hundredth time before heading for the shower. Sam didn't protest, instead sinking down on his bed and pulling his shoes of his aching feet. Then he fished in his pocket for his cell phone, thoughts already turning to Jess. He and John had been searching for Dean for a little over a month with no success. Sam was becoming more and more worried as the days drifted by, silently bracing himself for one of their friends calling to say they'd found Dean's body. He knew John was doing the same.

"Sam?" Jess's voice tore him out of his morbid thoughts and managed to bring a smile to his face even in light of the fact that Dean might be dead. 

"Hey Jess," he said with a grin.

"You'll never believe who I just talked to," Jess told him, voice gushing with warmth. "Your brother!"

"What?" Sam asked, stunned. Dean had called Jess?

"I know," Jessica said gushed. "He sounded fine. Said to tell you he was on a hunt and he'd call you tomorrow."

"He was all right?" Sam asked, just for reassurance.

"Yes," Jess reassured him. "And stunned that you had a girlfriend."

"Sounds like him," Sam said with a snort even as his mind toyed with the idea that Dean was still alive.

"So you can stop worrying," Jess continued. "And drag your brother back to meet me."

"I promise Jess," Sam said, his voice warm with love and relief. Jess always did know just what to say to make him feel better. "I love you Jess."

"I love you too Sam," Jess told him, voice still warm. "Good night." Then there was a click as she hung up the phone. It was echoed by the click of the bathroom door opening and shutting and John Winchester, clean of the mud that had come from their most recent hunt, stepped into view.

"Talking to Jessica?" he asked. Sam decided he would never get tired of that slight sparkle in his father's eyes whenever Jess was brought up in conversation. John's introduction to Jess had been by accident. The first night Sam had gone to take his shower, only asking John to answer the phone and let Jess know he was all right if she called. He had come out to find his dad and Jess chatting over the phone and after Sam had finished talking to Jess, John had said, "You've found a keeper son."

"Yeah," Sam said. "She said Dean called her."

"What?" John asked, sounding as shocked as Sam had felt.

"She said he was calling for me and she picked up the phone," Sam explained. "Said he told her to tell me that he was on a hunt and he'd call tomorrow." Some of the wrinkles cleared out on John's face at that. 

"That's good," he said, almost smiling. "He's alive then." Sam nodded, unable to keep the grin from spreading across his face. His brother was _alive_! Soon Dean would call and everything would be fine. They'd meet up with him somewhere, get the full story, and maybe Sam could even introduce Jess to Dean and John. It couldn't be a total disaster if John already liked Jessica and Dean, Dean would just be happy for him. He fell asleep that night with a smile on his face, unaware of what was happening at that very moment miles away.


	13. Death Match

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Characters;** Dean Winchester, Josiah Holland, Derrick Marker, Joy Carpenter, Mara Hammond, Amy Marks, Aiden Tyler, Lena McCoy, Molly McNamara, Daniel Elkins, Alyssa Holland
> 
> **Pairings;** Joy Carpenter/Derrick Marker and Amy Marks/Aiden Tyler
> 
> **Summary;** Time was running out for him

_Death Match_

The sun was sinking slowly down past the tree tops and Dean still didn't really have a plan. Well, that was entirely true. He had a vague idea of killing Joy and hoping Molly and Daniel showed up in time to help him with Derrick. Not that he'd seen Derrick in the past few hours. Since the other an had dragged Josiah away he hadn't seen hide or hair of him, a fact that had led his two guards to exchanged nervous looks. "You think-" the blonde started to ask suddenly, turning to glance worriedly at her dark haired companion.

"No Amy," the other girl shot back. "I'm trying not to think."

"About what?" Dean asked and the girls exchanged nervous glances before scanning the clearing. Finally the blonde, Amy, turned wide hazel eyes toward him.

"That Derrick killed Josiah." Her voice was hushed with fear, her eyes wide with concern. The dark haired girl beside her flinched. "He was furious," Amy continued. "And when Derrick's that angry people die. And, and-" Her voice cut out and she turned to her companion for help.

"And Josiah has a way of getting under people's skin," the dark haired girl finished grimly. "Eyes front Amy. They're coming." Amy's head snapped around to face forward just as Joy glided around the corner, golden hair gleaming in the last rays of sunlight. Dean had to admit she knew how to make an entrance. With her just shy of see through shirt, short skirt, and the sun making her hair gleam no one was looking away. Dean didn't recognize the young man flanking Joy but judging by Amy's flush, the blonde did.

"Good evening," Joy chimed, eyes cold as she looked Dean over. "Ready for what comes next?"

"To kill you?" Dean asked mockingly, not bothering to get up. "Oh honey, I've been ready for a long time." Joy's face flushed a sudden angry red and her lips curled.

"Get him into the ring," she snapped, whirling and stalking away. The young man who'd been flanking Joy hesitated a moment before he approached, warily as if Dean might snap at any minute. The girls slid aside to let him through and he pulled Dean up, still cautious.

Dean went without protest, actually allowing himself to stumble into the younger man. "Is Josiah all right?" The young man, who had flinched back when Dean had tumbled into him, hesitated a moment and then shrugged. "What's that supposed to mean?" he hissed.

"You'll see," the young man hissed back, shoving him roughly into a ring already lined with faces. Dean studied them expressionlessly, searching for any sign of Derrick, Josiah, or Joy. He saw none of them. Instead he caught glimpses of tired, hopeless faces. Some he recognized from the posters hanging around town but some, he was sure, had been stuck with Joy for longer than that. A few of the faces were gleeful and grew even more so when the crowd began to part. Joy sauntered into the center of the ring. She was followed by Derrick who was dragging Josiah with an arm around the younger boy's throat.

"Let us begin," Joy purred, stretching her head up towards the rising moon.

"Let's," Dean growled, feeling the shift wash over him even as he heard the crackle of bones signalling Joy's own shift. Her lithe frame slammed into him the instant she was done, trying to knock him over. Dean growled and snapped at her, using his larger frame to throw her off. They circled and this time Dean lunged, catching a mouthful of Joy's shoulder. She yelped and then snarled, twisting around and snapping at him. Dean was forced to release her to avoid being bitten and they were circling. Some of the others around the circle had shifted by that point and were baying for blood. Dean growled and dodged another of Joy's snaps. During the dodge back he caught the barest glimpse of light brown fur in the woods beyond the crowd and felt a hint of recognition in his mind. It was time to finish this.

Joy snapped at his hindquarters but he dodged, growling warningly at her. Maybe she had beaten all the others but Dean had been fighting since he was young. And he had something to fight for besides distinction and dominance. He was fighting for the freedom of everyone in the circle that had been forced to bow to Joy. She tried to circle again but Dean ignored the urge to circle with her, instead lunging for her throat. Joy tried to rear back but she wasn't fast enough and Dean's teeth sank in until they scraped bone. Joy little out a little gurgling noise before she went limp and Dean dropped her on the floor. For a moment there was absolute silence. Then chaos.

"Look out!" Dean's head turned at Josiah's scream just as Derrick came flying in wolf form toward him. Dean scrambled out of the way, whirling with a growl even as Molly jumped in the fray. Derrick crashed in Dean like a freight train, sending him tumbling and pinning him to the ground. Dean growled, snapping upward at the black throat above him only to have the wolf knocked off of him. Josiah had shifted and crashed into Derrick just before the massive black wolf had gone for the killing blow. The impact had sent him tumbling to the ground and now Derrick lunged for the smaller wolf. Dean growled and scrambled to his paws, biting down hard on the black wolf's flank. Derrick snarled and whirled on him, leaving Josiah free. 

Dean fully expected the smaller wolf to bolt but Josiah scrambled to his feet and lunged for Derrick. He was joined by a slightly larger dark brown wolf with a silver patch on its chest. Derrick snarled at them both, obviously trying to cow them into submission, and Dean struck. The larger black wolf only barely dodged a killing snap. He didn't, however, dodge the bullet Daniel Elkin's put through his skull. Both the smaller wolves flinched, the dark brown one slinking back with ears flat as the clearing began to empty. Wolves scrambled in every direction. Dean knew he'd probably have to hunt down some of them later but he wasn't going to worry about that now. Instead he was scanning who was left. He recognized Molly's light brown wolf and Josiah's brown frame was a few feet away watching him warily. The one with the grey chest had hung around too, along with a pale grey wolf with black paws. 

"Everyone all right?" Daniel asked and Dean barked an affirmative, hoping the man understood. Daniel flipped the safety back on and motioned toward the house. "I'm going to go see if anyone is inside." Dean nodded his head once in agreement and watched as Daniel made his way across the lawn to the cabin. The door creaked when the man opened it and vanished inside. Then he turned his attention to the other wolves. 

Molly swished her tail a couple times, seeming happy to see him. The other three looked wary. Josiah tensed when Dean approached, muscles locked as if to run. The other two watched the dark brown wolf as if searching for signals to what they should do. Dean knew he'd have to be careful about how he approached this. One wrong move and they'd either attack or bolt. He stopped a few feet away from Josiah, waiting to see what the younger werewolf would do. Josiah hesitated and then took a couple steps forward to brush his head lightly against Dean's flank before stepping back again, head bowed but more relaxed. The other two watched, not moving and eyes suddenly wide, as if they couldn't believe what they'd just seen. Dean didn't entirely understand the significance to the gesture but he did recognize that Josiah had just transferred loyalty. Molly stepped forward to touch noses with Josiah, tail swishing again. 

A moment later the other two wolves repeated Josiah's actions; first the grey and then the dark brown one. Dean stayed completely still during it, unsure what to do. Luckily he was saved from having to think of something by the creak of the cabin's door opening. " _JOSIAH!_ " a voice squealed and a flash of blonde hair shot by Dean. Josiah had shifted up by the time she reached him and was cradling her carefully, whispering into her blonde curls. Daniel had followed the girl out the door and stopped at Dean's side. 

"She was the only one left inside," he said gruffly. "The others had bolted." His lips curved into a smile at the sight of Josiah hugging the girl, who Dean guessed was the aforementioned little sister. "Time to go home?" Dean shifted then, sighing in relief as he slipped into human form.

"Yeah," he said, grinning up at Daniel from his position sitting on the ground. "Time to go home."


	14. Test of Trust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Characters;** Dean Winchester, Daniel Elkins, Molly McNamara, Josiah Holland, Alyssa Holland, Mary-Anne Holland, Amy Marks, Aiden Tyler
> 
> **Pairings;** Aiden Tyler/Amy Marks
> 
> **Summary;** He'd chosen to trust the other man. Now he was about to find out if his trust was justified

_Test of Trust_

Josiah cradled Alyssa to him gently, enjoying the feeling of having his little sister close to him. It had been close to three months since he'd seen her, really seen her without Derrick standing there with an arm around his throat. Alyssa, for her part, had settled her head against his shoulder and seemed content to stay there. Sunlight peeked through the trees and her heard the sound that signaled Aiden and Amy's transformations back into humans. Someone tugged Alyssa away from him and Josiah tensed, head jerking up only to have a shirt shoved into his face. "Kind of hard to get dressed while holding a little girl." Green eyes grinned at him. Josiah scowled back and tugged the shirt on, accepting the rest of the clothing and dressing quickly. Alyssa was handing back to him immediately afterword and he cradled his little sister close.

"You got someone else you can take her to?" Josiah's head snapped up again and this time he found himself looking at the older man. The one who wasn't a werewolf. "If you were really serious about making Dean your alpha you'll have to take your sister somewhere. This is no place for a little girl."

"I know," Josiah said, voice low. "Just-" His breath whooshed out in a low sigh as he held his little sister close. "Let me enjoy what time I have left." The man nodded, squeezing Josiah's shoulder once before walking over to his new alpha. Dean. Another sigh escaped him as Alyssa murmured sleepily against his shoulder. She'd have to go stay with their aunt, Mary-Anne. She'd hate him for that. After just three months of being apart she was clinging to him like he was the only bit of solid ground left but he couldn't keep her with him. It was just too dangerous.

"You okay?" Amy's soft voice broke his train of thought.

"Yeah," Josiah said with a rueful smile.

"Did you..." Amy trailed off, her expression hesitant enough that it drew Aiden to her. "Did you mean what you did back there?"

"What do you mean?" Josiah asked sharply, recognizing the deeper question behind what Amy was asking. Aiden's lips skimmed up over his teeth in warning at the voice tone but Josiah stared him down.

"Are you really submitting to him?" Amy asked, reaching a hand back to catch Aiden's arm and pull it onto her shoulder. "I mean you don't even know him." It was a valid point and something that was making Josiah wary from the get go. 

"I didn't have a choice," he said softly.

"Didn't have a choice?" Amy asked softly, leaning forward so that her golden bob drifted to cover her face. "What do you mean?"

"He's an alpha," Aiden said in an equally soft tone.

"Of course he is," Amy snapped crossly. "That's why Joy challenged him."

"No _him_ ," Aiden explained, wrapping an arm around Amy's waist. "Josiah."

"But Josiah isn't..." Amy began to protest and then trailed off uncertainly.

"Maybe not yet," Aiden allowed. "But have you ever been able to stare him down?" Amy shook her head reluctantly and Aiden nodded with a slight grin. "He's well on his way. If he hadn't submitted our new alpha probably would have killed him. He'd be a threat."

"So he has to submit to save his life but he loses Alyssa?" Amy said. "That's not fair!"

"That's life," Josiah said with dark humor and got a glare for his effort.

"What are you going to do with Alyssa?" Aiden asked, the muscles of his arm tensing in case he had to hold Amy back from smacking Josiah.

"Take her to Aunt Mary-Anne," Josiah said. "She'll be safe enough there." Aiden nodded once in acknowledgement and Amy sighed ruefully. 

"We'll meet you on the flipside?" Aiden asked, almost playfully, as he cuddled Amy closer. "Unless you've decided to go rogue already."

"After seeing him fight?" Josiah asked grimly, flicking his head in Dean's direction. "I don't think I dare." Aiden nodded in acknowledgement of the statement and then turned, gently guiding Amy toward their new pack. Josiah watched them for only a moment before shifting Alyssa into a more comfortable position and turning around, aiming at fading into the woods. Instead he found his path blocked by the man from earlier.

"Walking out without saying a word to your new alpha?" the man asked, sounding almost amused. Josiah growled lowly, causing Alyssa to whimper in her sleep, and then sighed. "Dean!" the man called and Josiah tensed automatically. Part of him wanted to shove by the man and fade into the forest but the more logical part of his brain reminded him that he probably would get far. Dean made his way over, expression curious as if he weren't sure what to expect.

"What's going on?" Dean questioned, glancing from Daniel to Josiah and back again. Daniel turned to Josiah expectantly and he swallowed hard.

"I need to take my sister to our aunt's home. It isn't safe for her with us," he said carefully after a moment of hesitation. It wasn't quite asking but that was as much as he could unbend his pride to manage.

"Okay," Dean said easily, seeming unworried. "You know where to find us?" Josiah gave him a flat, unamused look that made the older man laugh. "Right. Head for Manning, Colorado. Ask for Daniel Elkins if you can't find us there." Then he turned around and sauntered off as if nothing had happened. Josiah stared skeptically after his new alpha, not really noticing when the human followed Dean. Amy caught his expression from across the clearing and started giggling, causing Aiden to glance up and smirk. Josiah rolled his eyes at their amusement and turned back toward the forest.

The walk to Mary-Anne Holland's house took the better part of two hours and had him almost staggering with exhaustion at the end of it. He'd been awake for over twenty-four hours now and it took all the energy he had left just to sink down on his aunt's porch step. The door opened behind him made him flinch and huddle protectively over Alyssa. "Josiah?" his aunt's voice was tentative, as if she didn't quite believe her eyes. "Alyssa?" Suddenly he was surrounded by her strawberry perfume as she hugged them both. "I thought you were both dead!"

"We're okay," Josiah reassured her, standing and swaying tiredly. Mary-Anne Holland was in her late fifties with dark hair long gone grey and gentle blue eyes. She easily took Alyssa from him and motioned towards the house. 

"Why don't you go sleep? You can explain everything when you wake up," she suggested gently.

"In a minute," Josiah replied, though he would have loved nothing more than to drift off into dreamland. "I have something I need to check first." Namely if Dean had sent anyone after him. 

Mary-Anne studied her nephew's face for a moment, as if searching for answers, and then nodded once. "Okay. Check what you need to and then come right back." She turned and walked into the house with the sleeping Alyssa carefully balanced on her hip. Josiah fought another wave of exhaustion and stumbled off the porch, breathing in the cold winter air. Nothing. There wasn't a hint of another wolf for miles around. His muscles relaxed and the world suddenly rushed at him in a whirl of black as he crumpled to the ground.


	15. He Lies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Characters;** Sam Winchester, John Winchester, Bobby Singer, Jessica Moore
> 
> **Pairings;** Sam Winchester/Jessica Moore
> 
> **Summary;** He'd lied and for a while they'd believed it

_He Lies_

For a while there Sam had actually believed that his brother would call and this whole hunt would be over and he could go back to Jessica while he was still in one piece. Now he was wondering how exactly had he been so stupid. To be honest, hanging from the ceiling of a wendigo's cave was probably not the best time to be thinking those kind of thoughts but it wasn't as if he'd had anything better to do. It had been three days since Dean had called Jessica. Three days since Jessica had reassured Sam that his older brother would call the next day. Three days of absolutely nothing.

Bobby had found this hunt for Sam and John just to keep them from either going stir crazy or killing each other. They'd gotten along fairly well so far but doing nothing besides waiting for Dean to call had taken a toll on their so far peaceful relationship. Bobby, sensing the coming danger, had suggested a hunt. Now, hanging from the ceiling by some kind of vines cinched painfully tight around his wrists, Sam knew without a doubt that Dean had lied.

It shouldn't have really surprised him, Dean lying. His older brother was an excellent liar and Jess, who'd never met Dean before, wouldn't have suspected him of doing anything but telling the truth. Even if she would have been suspicious, Jess replied on facial expressions to tell her whether or not someone was lying. She had more trouble with vocal inflections and she didn't _know_ Dean. Not like Sam did. She wouldn't even know where to being. Some days Sam didn't even know whether or not his brother was lying and that was even when they stood face to face. Dean lied to survive, to keep the cops off their tails, to keep he and Sam from being taken away from John when they were younger. But he'd never lied to them about calling. That hurt. That Dean would have Jessica pass on a lie to his frantic father and brother stung right in the middle of Sam's insecurities.

Ever since early middle school when the other kids had started taunting him about not having a stable home, not having a mother, not having a family that loved him Sam had been insecure. Those words had eaten away inside of him until some nights he'd dreamed that John and Dean had just dumped him somewhere on the side of the road like the garbage bags they saw sometimes at the edge of game preserves. The logical part of his brain knew that Dean wouldn't just abandon him and that John loved him but didn't really understand him. The illogical part of his brain worried. Now it seemed like Dean had abandoned them. He'd lied to them and just kept going, maybe not even sparing a thought towards the people he'd left behind. Some small part of Sam pointed out that he'd done much the same thing when he'd gone off to college. He'd left his family behind without a second thought toward their welfare. He'd never called or tried to speak to John. He'd rarely answered the phone when Dean called. Sam flinched at the thought and then winced again at the pain it sent rippling down his frame.

Somewhere in the darkness he heard a low growl and hoped silently that John was faring better than he was. If they both got strung up they, and the people they were trying to save, were as good as dead. Bobby wouldn't check on them for a couple days and by then the wendigo would have probably started killing them off. Jess would worry if she hadn't heard from him by morning but she didn't have any contacts in the supernatural world, not yet. She wouldn't be able to do a thing. 

"Sammy?" John's voice echoed through the darkness and Sam saw the beam of a flashlight on the other side of the cave.

"Here," he croaked in a dry voice and was relieved when the flashlight beam turned in his direction. A moment later he was cut down and rubbing feeling back into his wrists, arms, and shoulders as John cut down the other victims that were still living. "Is it dead?" he asked John and then mumbled a thank you when his father handed over a water bottle.

"Yeah," John replied. "And I don't know what you did to it before you got strung up but it was angry as hell when I finally found it."

"Missed it with the makeshift flame thrower," Sam muttered, taking another drink. "Probably blinded it for a while since it's used to darkness."

Getting the victims out and feeding the police a pack of lies were the easy part. Staying awake to call Jessica was harder. It was a testament to how worried his girlfriend had been that she answered the phone on the first ring. "Sam? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he reassured her, biting down a yawn. "Just tired and a little sore. Everything went fine."

"That's good," she gushed, sounding ridiculously relieved. "I was up half the night worrying about you."

"Oh Jess-"

"Don't 'oh Jess' me," she scolded, sounding amused. "I can worry about you if I want! Have you heard from Dean?"

"Not yet," he told her, not wanting to voice his suspicions about Dean lying. Jessica heard the hidden part though, as clearly as if he'd spoken it aloud.

"I'm sorry Sam. If I'd known he was lying I wouldn't have gotten your hopes up."

"It isn't your fault," he told her through a yawn and she laughed.

"You're so sweet. Now get some rest before you fall asleep talking to me."

"Not a bad way to fall asleep," Sam informed her, amused. "Love you."

"Love you too," she told him, voice rich with affection. Then she hung up on him. John was just finishing talking with Bobby so Sam dropped down on his bed, eyelids already drifting closed. It had been a long hunt and adrenalin had kept him going for about half of it, sapping his strength.

"Bobby says he hasn't heard anything from Dean," John said when he hung up. "Said there was another hunt south of here though if we want to check it out tomorrow." Sam muttered an affirmative, eyes closed, and drifted off to sleep before he could hear anything more.


	16. Lacking Knowledge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Characters;** Dean Winchester, Daniel Elkins, Molly McNamara, Aiden Tyler, Amy Marks, Josiah Holland (by name only)
> 
> **Pairings;** Aiden Tyler/Amy Marks
> 
> **Summary;** He'd been gone for three days

_Lacking Knowledge_

In the past three days Dean had poured over Daniel Elkins' book collection again, learning everything he could about alpha wolves and how werewolf packs functioned. During that time he'd also gotten to know Aiden Tyler and Amy Marks, the couple that had joined up with him. Amy Marks was twenty-one and had just been visiting home from her sophomore year in college, studying to be a nurse, when she'd been changed by Joy. The formerly living alpha had knocked on Amy's door, killed her family, and changed Amy. The mild mannered blonde had all but fallen apart after that. According to her it had taken Aiden Tyler, her current boyfriend, and a girl named Mara Hammond to put her back together again.

Aiden Tyler was twenty-two and had been a mechanic in training before he'd been changed, almost a year before Amy. He'd been at a bar with his sister, a girl a year older who'd been named Addison, when Derrick had come sauntering in like he owned the place. Derrick had tried flirting with Addison who'd turned him down at every try. Finally Derrick had stormed out in a dark mood and the two had gone home an hour later without thinking anything about it. As it turned out, they should have been watching their backs. Derrick followed them to their home. Addison and Aiden's parents had died two years before that and they lived together, sharing the payments for the time being. Derrick had killed Addison but Aiden had somehow survived the attack. Two months later, during Aiden's second round of transformations, Derrick had shown back up and dragged him back to the pack.

Josiah, for his part, had yet to return. Dean knew what his job was but he wasn't looking forward to it. "Just go track him down," Molly hissed at him from her position across the table from him. Dean glanced over his shoulder to where Amy was curled up next to Aiden watching the morning news and drinking coffee in the next room and then back to Molly. "Honestly," the woman continued. "He pulled a runner."

"We don't know that Molly," Dean shot back.

"So say something happened to him," she said with a roll of her eyes. Dean wondered absently when Molly McNamara had become so cynical as he braced himself for whatever bombshell she was going to drop next. "He'll probably need your help getting out of it then. But chances are he ran just like those lovey dovey pack mates of his eventually will."

"This isn't about Josiah," Dean suddenly realized. "This is about Aiden and Amy. Because to you they represent everything you lost."

"What?" Molly protested, face flushing. "No!"

"Yes," Dean growled, silencing her abruptly. "Because you see them and you can't help but think of what you and David had. So you see them and you're hurt and jealous and angry."

"That's not-" Molly tried again, face flushing brighter but Dean cut her off.

"Go out and cool down. Come back when you can talk like a rational person." Molly glared at him, looking like she was considering ripping him apart, and then stormed out. Dean sighed, wincing slightly at door slamming behind her.

"Everything okay?" Daniel asked, walking in with a cup of coffee in hand.

"No," Dean said, glaring slightly at the chair Molly had just been sitting in. "Molly's being a bitch because Aiden and Amy are in love and Josiah is still missing."

"Well I can't solve Molly but I can solve the problem with Josiah," Daniel said, sitting down in Molly's vacated chair. "I did some research and the only living relatives of Josiah Holland are his little sister, Alyssa, and a woman named Mary-Anne."

"Do you have an address?" Dean asked and Daniel nodded.

"I'll get it written down," he said. "But kid, I'd talk to his friends first before you go." Dean nodded, standing and heading for the next room. Aiden glanced up the instant Dean entered the room and, after a moment, Amy looked up as well. 

"I need to ask you a couple questions about Josiah," Dean told them.

"He wouldn't just vanish," Amy cut in immediately. "He's not like that!"

"Do you think something happened to him?" Dean asked her, trying to keep her calm. He didn't know Josiah enough to judge but he was guessing that Amy and Aiden did.

"Maybe," Aiden said, covering Amy's mouth before she could snap at Dean. "If Derrick was still alive I'd say definitely but with Derrick gone I don't think any of our former pack mates would go after him. Besides it isn't that far of a trip to his aunts house." Dean nodded and then glanced at Amy.

"Anything to add?"

"He'd been up for over twenty-fours hours when he left," Amy said softly. Her hazel eyes were wide with concerned as she snuggled into Aiden's side.

"I'll keep that in mind," Dean said before leaving to find Daniel.


	17. Fever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Characters;** Dean Winchester, Mary-Anne Holland, Josiah Holland, Alyssa Holland
> 
> **Pairings;** None
> 
> **Summary;** Finding out that the truth was nothing like he had expected; priceless

_Fever_

Mary-Anne Holland's house was four and a half hours away from Daniel Elkins' home. Underneath the neat coating of snow the house was crisp and clean. It was white with pale blue trim and the heavy wooden front door was a darker shade of blue. Dean stepped out of the Impala and climbed the steps, rapping hard on the door. His hearing, which was becoming more and more advanced as time went by, picked up the soft shuffling of feet and then the door was warily opened. The woman standing at the door was in her mid fifties or late forties with more grey in her hair than dark strands. Her eyes were blue and kind as they studied him. "Mary-Anne Holland?" Dean asked, levelly meeting that gaze.

"Yes," she said after a moment. "Can I help you?"

"Is Josiah there?" he asked and watched as Mary-Anne's eyes suddenly turned steely. 

"Who are you?" she demanded and when Dean hesitated, not sure how he should answer, she added, "I'll call the cops young man."

"My name is Dean," he said quickly, not wanting the police involved in this. "Dean Winchester." He watched as Mary-Anne Holland's face softened at his name. 

"Dean?" she asked, as if double checking, and he nodded. "Come in then." She stepped aside and Dean walked warily into the home, breathing in deeply. He caught scents of sugar, cinnamon, and the barest hint of werewolf. 

"Is Josiah okay?" Dean asked, Aiden's statements echoing in his head. If someone had gone after Josiah because Dean had let the young man go by himself, well he'd hunt the son of a bitch down and rip him to pieces.

"Just sick," Mary-Anne replied with an amused shake of her head. "He tried to do more than he should have, as usual, and he's paying the price for it. It's been a fight just to keep him sleeping. He keeps muttering something about how he's supposed to be somewhere else and he promised Dean, I'm assuming that's you, he'd be there."

"Idiot," Dean muttered, shaking his head. He caught a glimpse of blonde hair in the kitchen and then Alyssa came bouncing around the corner. She stopped when she saw Dean and then flashed him a wide smile.

"Hi," she chirped and then turned to Mary-Anne. "The timer on the cookies dinged."

"Okay," Mary-Anne said gently. "I'll be over in a minute Lyss." The girl smiled again, with dimples, and skipped back into the kitchen. "Josiah is upstairs, second room on the left," Mary-Anne told him before heading for the kitchen. Dean took the stairs two at a time, still somewhat irrationally worried about Josiah. It was something that had been making him twitchy for two days now. The bedroom door was partially cracked and when Dean stepped inside Josiah's eyes flickered open.

"Morning," Dean said cheerfully and saw Josiah tense. "Easy," he added placidly, feeling relief wash through him. "I was just checking to make sure you didn't get lost."

"Shut up," Josiah mumbled with halfhearted menace, sounding truly miserable.

"Man you caught it big time, didn't you?" Dean asked, settling down on the edge of the bed. Josiah tensed slightly and then breathed out with a sigh, muscles relaxing more when Dean brushed the younger man's hair out of his face. "How long have you been this sick?"

"This is actually better," Josiah mumbled, eyes closed as he slipped further under the covers.

"Man, you are screwed up," Dean said but Josiah was already asleep. Dean watched for a few moments before heading back downstairs. "Can I use your phone?" Dean asked Mary-Anne and she nodded her assent. Dean dialed Daniel's number from memory and listened to it ring. 

"Yeah?" Daniel answered, sounding vaguely distracted.

"Hey," Dean said, suddenly feeling worried. "Is something wrong?"

"Calm down mama bear," Daniel replied, sounding amused. "Your pack is fine. How's Josiah?"

"Sick," Dean said and Daniel laughed.

"Let's see here; you spent fifty bucks on gas, had to replace a tire on the car for another fifty, but finding out that your pack mate is just sick and not pulling a runner? That's priceless," Daniel snorted, still sounding like he was laughing at Dean. "Stick around with Josiah and try not to get too worried about the rest of your pack. Molly and I'll take care of them." Then Daniel hung up on him. Dean glared at the phone for a few minutes, as if it had personally offended him. Then he sighed, shook his head, and put the phone back. He heard Alyssa giggling the from the kitchen and the clatter of dishes. It was going to be a long few days before Josiah was better again and they could go.


	18. Working Things Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Characters;** Dean Winchester, Josiah Holland
> 
> **Pairings;** None
> 
> **Summary;** Josiah didn't like him; that must was obvious

_Working Things Out_

It had taken four days for Josiah to be fit for travel. Four days in which Dean had agonized over the state of his newly created pack and nearly drove Daniel crazy with phone calls. Now they were on their way to Daniel's home but the atmosphere in the Impala was anything but relaxing. Josiah had just left his little sister behind with his aunt and the emotion radiating off him could be considered downright hostile. Dean gritted his teeth as Aerosmith's "Janie's Got a Gun" blared from the speakers, trying to ignore the emotion. It was difficult though when he knew he could actually _feel_ Josiah's emotions since he was the younger man's alpha. And there was no doubt that the emotion rolling off the younger man in waves was a mixture of anger and distrust.

"Alright," Dean growled finally, slamming on the brake and jerking the wheel over so the Impala was pulled over on the side of the road. The gravel road sent puffs of dirt into the air as he stormed out of the car and around to the passenger side. Somewhere in the woods on the side of the road a bird fluttered away. Dean yanked open the passenger door and jerked Josiah out of the vehicle. The kid stumbled, trying to gain his feet as Dean dragged him down the side of the road to slam him against a tree.

"What is your problem?" Josiah hissed, trying to shove Dean off him, but the emotion coming off him was more like panic than fury.

" _My problem_?" Dean growled back. "What is _your_ problem?"

"Get off of me," Josiah hissed, struggling to shove Dean away. The kid hooked a leg around one of Dean's when he shoved, actually getting somewhat of an advantage. Dean growled and slammed the younger man into the tree again. Josiah yelped, eyes suddenly far too wide. The kid thrashed, snarling and baring his teeth at Dean. The entire action screamed _challenge_ but Dean could almost taste the fear behind it.

"What is your problem?" he demanded again, this time gentling his tone slightly.

"Get off me," Josiah retorted but his voice was weak and panicky. Dean could hear the younger man's heart beating far too quickly in his chest. There was a moment of hesitation as Dean waited and then Josiah tilted his head up, baring his throat. Dean leaned forward and nipped lightly at the pulse point, a single reminder that he was the alpha. Josiah shuddered but didn't fight him. He released the kid and Josiah stumbled away, muscles trembling.

"So why exactly did you submit if you hate me so much?" Dean asked, leaning against the tree.

"I don't hate you."

"You're not answering me," Dean replied with a slight smirk. Josiah glanced at him warily for half a second, jerking them away before there was any sign of a challenge.

"You mean you don't know?" Josiah asked with a wry twist of his lips. Then the younger man drew himself up to his full height and stared Dean straight in the eyes. He was smacked by a wave of power, not as strong as his own but one that spoke of definite potential. _Threat_ , a voice in his head hissed. _Pack_ he countered and the voice silenced.

"You're an alpha," Dean said aloud and Josiah nodded, flinching when Dean got closer. "Up and coming but definitely an alpha." Josiah stumbled back a step, eyes flashing with fear when Dean got closer.

"Stay away from me," he gasped out and Dean spread his hands in front of him, trying to show he meant no harm. Josiah stumbled back another step and Dean sighed.

"Honestly," he grumbled, exasperated. "Hold still." Josiah flinched but obeyed, muscles stiff. When Dean was within arm's reach Josiah's eyes flickered closed and he bared his throat again. The wolf inside Dean subsided, appeased. He ran a hand through the younger man's hair on instinct and watched as Josiah relaxed. "We finished now?" he asked, hoping that they didn't actually have to fight.

"Yes alpha," Josiah replied, voice soft.

"Good," Dean replied, taking a step back and relaxing. "Now maybe we can move on."

"Yes alpha."

"And it's Dean, you know," he continued. "You can use my name."

"Yes alpha." Dean glanced over his shoulder in time to catch Josiah's fleeting smirk.

"Very funny," he said and heard Josiah snort behind him. 

They road in silence for a few minutes, Dean even flipping off his precious tapes. "So that was why Derrick was always looming over you," he said finally. "He knew what you would be eventually."

"Stonger than Joy possibly," Josiah said with a grim smile. "She wanted to make sure I was too beaten down to challenge her."

"That _bitch_ ," Dean said, caught halfway between irritation and admiration.

"And if you ever try that I'll _kill_ you," Josiah added, voice deadly. Dean growled lowly, slamming on the breaks for the second time that day. This time he didn't bother to pull off, simply throwing the parking break on before letting the inner wolf take over.

"Was that a challenge?" he snarled, slamming Josiah against the far door. The younger werewolf struggled, caught between Dean, the door, and his own seat belt. "Well?"

"No," Josiah hissed back, bold despite the fact that his heartbeat was pounding far too rapidly again. "That was a promise." Dean tightened his grip marginally, watching Josiah tense, and then relaxed it.

"Fair enough," he said after a moment, fighting to reign in the wolf. 

Josiah studied him a moment and then said, "It's worse than mine, isn't it? Your wolf is harder to control."

"Yeah," Dean said, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose. "Josiah I-"

"It's alright," the younger man replied. "It happens. Trust me, I know." Then he laughed, a low rueful sound. "The first time it happened to me, Derrick nearly killed me so it could have been worse." Dean opened his eyes again, still fighting. "It doesn't help that it was just a full moon week a couple days ago." Then, very warily, Josiah settled back in his seat and bared his throat. Dean's wolf relaxed with a low rumble and he settled back in his seat with a sigh.

"Better not make any more promises kid," Dean said, putting the Impala back in drive and taking off down the road once again.


	19. Let Me In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Characters;** Jessica Moore, Yellow Eyed Demon, Sam Winchester
> 
> **Pairings;** Jessica Moore/Sam Winchester
> 
> **Summary;** "Little pig, little pig let me come in."

_Let Me In_

Jessica was on her computer again, checking out the hunter forum, when the knock came at the door. She jumped, glancing warily at the clock that ticked onwards toward midnight. The knock came again and Jess stood, heading for the door. She hesitated in front of it, peering through the peep hole, and say a man standing outside a good distance from the door. Keep the chain closed she warily pulled the door open a few inches and peered out into the hall. "Hello. Can I help you?"

"Jessica Moore I presume," the man said and she nodded warily. "Yes. I think you can." Then he looked her in the eye and his own turned yellow. Jess gasped and slammed the door shut, making sure all the locks were actually locked before stumbling backwards toward the kitchen. "Little pig, little pig let me come in," the man taunted, his voice echoing through the thick wood. Jess whimpered and ran for the kitchen, fingers fumbling with the cordless phone. She was so panicked it took her three tries to dial Sam's number.

"Come on, come on, come on!" she mumbled in a panicked rush.

"Sorry but I'm not available right now," Sam's prerecorded voice told her. "Leave your name and number and I'll call you right back."

Jess growled, half in fright and half in fury, and was tempted the throw the phone. Instead she hung up, waiting heart thumping minutes as the creature outside continued to ask for admittance, and dialed again. She got his recording again and this time the growl was pure frustration.

"Let me in," the voice at the door demanded.

"Shut _up!_ " Jess yelled back, slamming the phone down on the kitchen counter. "Damn it Sam," she muttered. "Answer your stupid phone." She glared nervously at the object on the counter and then realized that the hall had fallen suddenly silent. Cautiously she stood and crept to the kitchen doorway, peering down the hall at the door. That was when the entire thing rattled as if it were going to shake off its hinges. Jess couldn't help the shriek, an eerie counterpart to the suddenly ringing phone, as she stumbled back into the kitchen. "H-hello," she stammered into the phone when she could finally stab the answer button with a trembling finger.

"Jess?" Sam's voice said from the other end of the line. "Jess are you okay?"

"Sam?" she squeaked back. "Sam there's this guy with yellow eyes outside the door. _Yellow eyes!_ "

"Okay Jess," Sam said, his voice steady and even. "We're not far from Stanford so we're packing up now and coming down. The wards I set up before I left will keep you safe. Now just calm down."

"Okay," Jess replied, her voice shuddering slightly.

"Now I need to ask you a few questions," Sam continued, voice still steady. "Were the man's eyes yellow the entire time?"

"No," Jess answered, voice wavering slightly as the door began rattling again. "They turned yellow. Sam he's trying to get in."

"Ok. I need you to do something for me then."

"What?"

"It isn't dangerous," he reassured her. "You're just going to stand in the hallway and repeat exactly what I say as clearly as you always nag Becky or Zach to do when they're giving a speech. It's a simple exorcism but he has to hear it for it to work."

"Ok," Jess said, shoving down panic as one hand fluttered about uselessly in the air and the other one clung to the phone for dear life. "I can do that." Slowly Sam fed her the exorcism and she repeated it piece by piece in as steady a voice as she could manage. She had never been good at speaking foreign languages, especially not in a pinch, but she could mimic accents and tones flawlessly. Sam's clear pronunciation meant that she never faltered in trying to say a word, even if she didn't understand a word she was saying. When she finished she heard a moan of pain and then silence.

"Is it gone?" Sam asked.

"I don't know," she replied, creeping toward the door again. She was just reaching out to touch the handle in an attempt to steady herself when the laughter started. Deep, cold, and amused, it cut her to the core. "No," she squeaked out. "Definitely not gone. In fact, I think he finds the exorcism amusing."

"Don't worry Jess," Sam rushed to reassure her. 

"It's going to get in!" Jess cried as the door rattled again, this time harder than before.

"Calm down," Sam said, voice gentle. "You know Hail Mary, right?"

"Of course I do," Jess snapped, her anger fueled by fear. "I'm at least that Catholic!"

"Then say it and keep repeating it. In Latin if you know it in that language. It'll help. And don't worry Jess, we're coming." Then Sam hung up on her or lost connection. Jess moved to throw the phone away in frustration but couldn't make herself release it. Instead she clung to it as if it were a lifeline.

"Hail Mary," she mumbled under her breath as the door shook again. "You can do this. Just say it." Her eyes fluttered closed, frantic mind trying to come up with the prayer. After a moment the words spilled out of her mouth, free hand reaching up to clutch the cross she always wore hidden under the fabric of her shirt. "Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed are thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen." There was a pause in the rattling of the door, almost a thoughtful one, and Jess used the moment to pull the cross out in full sight. "Come on, Latin," she mumbled to herself. "You know it in Latin. You got a sticker in Sunday School for knowing it in both English and Latin." 

The door shook again, as if trapped in a terrible storm, and to her surprise the words spilled out. "Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum, benedicta tu in muileribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui Iesus. Sancta Maria mater dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc, et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen." Then she gaped as the cross in her hand seemed to glow. Tentatively she stepped forward, placing the quickly dulling cross against the doorknob as she repeated the prayer. " _Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum, benedicta tu in muileribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui lesus. Sancta Maria mater dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc, et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen. _" There was a howl on the other side of the door as the whole chunk of wood glowed. Jess stared in astonishment and then started again. She would keep this up until Sam got here. She had to.__


	20. Catching Scent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Characters;** Dean Winchester, Daniel Elkins, Josiah Holland, Aiden Tyler, Amy Marks, Molly McNamara
> 
> **Pairings;** Aiden Tyler/Amy Marks
> 
> **Summary;** It was nice returning home, despite the mini lesson
> 
> **_Note;_** This takes place roughly around the same time frame as the last chapter in Jessica's POV

_Catching Scent_

"You get everything worked out?" was the first question out of Daniel Elkins' mouth after Josiah brushed by him to join Amy and Aiden. Dean took a moment to glance around at his packing, thinking about how nice it was to be back with them all, before he answered.

"I think so," he said, eyes fixed on Josiah's back. He watched as the younger man's shoulders tensed as if he sensed Dean's eyes on him. "At least for now." He breathed in then, sucking in a noseful of familiar scents all cluttered together. Hanging over it all, like a binding element, was the merest hint of gunpowder. "Do you smell that?"

"What?" Daniel asked, looking at Dean as if he'd lost his mind. "What are you talking about kid?"

"That scent," Dean said. "It's a mix of a lot of things but it has a hint of gunpowder with it."

"You've lost it," Daniel said flatly.

"No he hasn't," Josiah cut in, head down so he wouldn't look Dean in the eyes. "Every werewolf, at least of our strain, has a unique scent."

"For example, Joy was honey and lemon," Aiden chimed in.

"Very sour lemon," Amy added with a cheeky grin, wrinkling her nose.

"Thanks for that," Josiah drawled, shooting Amy a dry look. The girl giggled, cheeky grin still in place, and he rolled his eyes. "Anyway once a group of wolves becomes a pack they have this sort of uniting element, normally a part of the alpha wolf's scent."

"And does every wolf have a two scent mixture?" Daniel asked, turning his gaze to Josiah.

"As far as we know," the younger man said with a shrug. "Supposedly the scent is meant to reflect something about the person." He paused and then added, almost as an afterthought, "Dean's is gunpowder and fresh cut grass."

" _Dude _," Dean said, mouth suddenly running on autopilot. "What the hell?" His exclamation was enough to send Josiah's wary gaze skittering up to his own for a moment before darting back down.__

__"No, it's true," Amy protested, still smiling slightly. "Yours is gunpowder and fresh cut grass and Josiah's is something like hot metal and hickory smoke."_ _

__"Amy's is that pencil lead-"_ _

__"Graphite," Josiah said, absentmindedly interrupting Molly._ _

__" _Graphite_ ," Molly corrected with a half serious glare at Josiah. "And lavender. Aiden's is ocean water and copper."_ _

__"And Molly's is pine sap and fabric softener," Aiden finished._ _

__"And that's supposed to tell us something about ourselves?" Dean asked skeptically._ _

__"Hey, I don't make the rules," Amy said, cheeky grin back in place, and Molly giggled. According to his phone conversations with Daniel, Molly and the happy couple had talked out their differences which resulted in Amy and Molly becoming good friends. After five minutes in their company Dean wasn't so sure it was a good thing._ _

__"Welcome home," Daniel said with a wry smile and a shake of his head before heading for the next room. Dean just groaned. Then what Daniel had just said sank in. _Home_. For the first time since the fire and Mary's death he had a place to call home and a group he could almost call his family._ _

"Sam would have loved this," he mumbled, before stepping further into his new home to join his up and coming pack.


	21. Saving Jess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Characters;** Jessica Moore, Sam Winchester, John Winchester, Yellow Eyed Demon
> 
> **Pairings;** Jessica Moore/Sam Winchester
> 
> **Summary;** "You stay away from her!"

_Saving Jess_

Sam all but ran up the stairs toward he and Jess's rooms, John right behind him. There was a man rattling the door violently and when he heard Sam and John he turned to grin at them with yellow eyes. "Well isn't it the infamous Winchesters," he sneered. "Nice to see you again John. And you Sammy boy."

"Stay away from Jess," Sam snapped, staring right back at the demon.

"Your darling girlfriend?" the demon said disdainfully. "I'm sorry Sammy dear but she has to go. I have plans for you and they don't involve the girl." He turned back toward the door only to have it flung open the slam against his face. Jess was standing there, cross in hand and face a mixture of fury and fear.

"You leave him alone," she snapped, fingers clutching the cross so tightly they were white. Then she reached forward, pressing the cross against the shocked demon's forehead, and began to speak. " _Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum, benedicta tu in muileribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui lesus. Sancta Maria mater dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc, et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen_." The cross glowed and the demon howled in pain, stumbling back. Sam started an exorcism and the demon snarled before vanishing into thin air. Jess crumpled the instant the demon was gone and Sam scrambled to catch her.

"It's okay," he told Jess, cradling her close. "You're safe now."

"Sam," she gasped, clutching him for dear life. "Thank God you came!"

"Jessica Moore," John said, voice impressed. "You're probably the bravest civilian I've ever met."

"Thank you," Jess said, giving John a shy smile before burying her face in Sam's shirt.

"Hey Jess," he said and she glanced up at him. "Do you still have that emergency bag packed?"

"Yeah," she mumbled. "Why?"

Sam glanced at his father who nodded at him with a slim smile. "You're coming with us?" he told her. "If you don't mind Dad-"

"You get her to the truck," John said. "I'll get the bag."

"Under our bed," Sam called after his father before helping Jess to her feet. "Come on angel. Let's get you out of here."

"Thank you," Jess stuttered with a wide smile as she allowed Sam to lead her out of the apartment building and to the truck waiting for their return.

"Anything for you," Sam replied as they settled in. Twenty minutes later John was driving down a moonlit road while Sam navigated and Jess was sound asleep with her head resting on her boyfriend's shoulder.


	22. Full Moon Rising

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Characters;** Dean Winchester, Daniel Elkins, Molly McNamara, Josiah Holland, Aiden Tyler, Amy Marks
> 
>  **Pairings;** Aiden Tyler/Amy Marks
> 
>   **Summary;** Their first full moon together as a pack.

_Full Moon Rising_

"...and last I checked John and Sam were in Chicago checking on a poltergeist," Daniel said just as Molly McNamara leaned her head around the corner. She, Aiden, Amy, and Josiah had been researching for the past hour, using every book they could get their hands on to find out what it really meant it be a pack, when Aiden had snapped at Josiah for no reason and the younger man had snapped back. The two had been on the verge of an actual fight when Amy had stepped in and told them they were both being idiots. Aiden had flushed, Josiah had backed off with a reluctant growl, and Molly had realized that the first night of full moon week was tonight.

"You need something?" Dean asked her, green eyes locking on her brown ones.

"Tonight's the first full moon night," Molly explained in a matter of fact tone. "And we kind of need you in here otherwise the boys are going to tear each other apart." Dean groaned just as, true to Molly's prediction the boys started snapping again. Dean stood sharply at the noise, storming into the room with Molly right on his heels.

"Back off," he snapped at the boys. Aiden did as he was told, backing off immediately, but Josiah growled lowly, turning toward Dean. In a moment Dean had the younger man pinned against the nearest wall. He growled lowly and Josiah returned the sound, making the others back off instinctively. _Challenge_. The word seemed to echo in Molly's mind and Dean's growl in response to the younger man's vocalization was darker and infinitely more dangerous. Josiah tried to throw Dean off and the older man slammed him against the wall again, hard enough to make the picture frames rattle.

"Don't put a dent in my wall boy," Daniel Elkins yelled from the next room.

"I won't," Dean replied darkly. "But I might put a dent in this one if he keeps it up."

"Don't get blood on my wall either," Daniel grumbled but Molly doubted that her alpha was listening anymore. Instead he was focused on Josiah who was struggling to throw the older man off of him again. Dean growled lowly again and grabbed two handfuls of Josiah shirt, slamming the younger man against the wall hard enough that it bounced and Josiah looked rather dazed. Molly winced at the cracks suddenly spreading through the wall. Aiden and Amy exchanged nervous looks but seemed unwilling to step in.

"Are we finished now?" Dean growled and Josiah snarled back lowly, eyes blazing. The effects of the full moon, which all the books defined as slipping into their more wolfish aspects, had evidently gotten to Josiah, making him more aggressive than normal. Dean leaned closer to Josiah, keeping the younger man pinned and whispering something too low for anyone else to hear. Whatever it was, it made to Josiah shudder and let out a nervous little whine. Dean slid back a little, giving the younger man a little room, and Josiah bared his throat. Dean nipped lightly at the pulse point, a single reminder to everyone present that he was top dog and what he said was the law, and then released Josiah, giving the others a nod before heading into the next room.

"You better not have wrecked anything," Molly heard Daniel tell their alpha but she didn't pay attention to the response. Instead she watched as Josiah slid down the wall to huddle against the wall. Amy hesitated a moment before slipping her fingers free of Aiden's and walking over to kneeling next to Josiah.

"Are you okay?" she asked softly, fingers hovering uncertainly around Josiah.

"Fine," Josiah mumbled shakily, managing a weak smile for Amy. When the girl looked unconvinced he pulled himself up slightly. "Seriously. I just got a little carried away is all. It's all good." Amy opened her mouth as if to protest but Josiah shook his head slightly and she sighed.

"Why do you have to be so stupidly stubborn?" she muttered with the hint of a fond smile on her face as she rejoined Aiden. Situation defused, at least for the moment, they all went back to the books.

As they day progressed all of them began to have trouble focusing. Aiden's foot started tapping at about one in the afternoon and he couldn't seem to bring himself to stop. Amy kept shifting and switching positions on the couch as if she couldn't get comfortable and the more she had to switch the more impatient she got. Molly found herself pacing uselessly and Josiah snapped at anyone who got too close. If Molly was being honest with herself she had to admit that it was Josiah's reaction that intrigued her the most. While everyone else simply seemed to grow less comfortable in their own skin as the day dragged on, Josiah seemed less comfortable with the environment around him. It worried her, made her want to scan all the windows for any sign of danger. Throughout it all Dean seemed to almost hover around them, as if they would vanish the instant he turned his back. The tension rose as the sun began to set until Daniel, with the stern statement that he was _not_ going to have his house torn apart, kicked them outside.

The sun set, cold air making them all shiver as they sat on Daniel's back porch. Crisp snow covered the ground and fresh flakes of the stuff drifted dreamily down as they waited for moonrise. The earlier hyperactivity of the day seemed to fade away, leaving only silent alertness. Finally the moon made herself known in the sky and Dean stood, kicking off his shoes. The others hesitated on the porch until he motioned at them to join him with an almost childish grin. Then the shift.

It was like nothing else Molly had ever felt before. The change from human to werewolf had been horrible painful that night that David died but this? Every time she shifted there was less and less pain. A feeling like the tingling she felt when her foot fell asleep washed across her entire body as bones and muscles crackled and reformed. Moments later she was strong and powerful and a wolf. She could feel the pack around her, almost like a sixth sense in the back of her mind. The sense of them was _right there_ and Molly wondered vaguely if this was what Dean felt every day. If so then poor him. She turned her head to glance at her pack mates, taking time to place a name with each form. Amy was a slim, almost delicate, pale grey wolf with black paws that would have vanished into the darkness if not for the snow on the ground. She yipped cheerfully at Molly and the nudged the wolf next to her, Aiden. He was of a boxier build with dark brown fur and a wide grey patch on his chest. He wasn't huge but strongly built and Molly guessed he was perfectly capable of pulling his weight.

She recognized Josiah from the fight before; slim and brown and dangerous with white paws the same color as the glimmer snow below them. He stood a little distance off from the pack, almost wary of joining. On the other side of the group was Dean, looming over them all like some kind of fairytale monster. All dark grey with his brilliant green eyes, Molly could see even now why the girls all swooned over him and it made her want to roll her eyes. They ran then, through the night. The woods gleamed around them, covered in fresh snow like a new sheet of paper to draw on. They made tracks and play fought until the sun rose and they stumbled back inside, exhausted.

Curled up on the couch afterwords, barely managing to stay awake to watch snow fall in flurries past the window to be lit up by the blaze of sunrise, Molly considered what she'd always been told. Wolves, like their domesticated counterparts dogs, were lesser beings. They didn't worry, didn't think, just obeyed pack hierarchy the same way the three blind mice stumbled through their lives. While some of it was true, most of it was wrong. As a wolf she did think, did worry, did observe. The difference between her now and her before was that there were different rules to follow. And different, she reflected as she looked at her pack mates curled up in chairs or on the floor, wasn't so bad after all.


	23. Finding Balance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Characters;** Daniel Elkins, Dean Winchester, Josiah Holland, Aiden Tyler, Amy Marks, Molly McNamara
> 
> **Pairings;** Aiden Tyler/Amy Marks
> 
>   **Summary;** They had to find some kind of balance or this was never going to work.

_Finding Balance_

"Lily would be proud of you." Dean started slightly at the words and glanced at Daniel Elkins over the rim of his coffee mug. He'd stumbled out of the ancient armchair in the living room in a half awake state at just after one in the afternoon. On his second cup of coffee, Dean was now marginally more awake but his brain was still stumbling over what the older man had just said.

"Huh?" he mumbled finally.

"Lily would be proud of you," Daniel repeated. "What you're doing." Dean snorted and leaned back in his chair, tilting back to glance at the doorway that led to the living room.

" _Right_ ," he drawled sarcastically, trying to resist the urge to go check on his pack. He'd been none too awake when they'd stumbled in at the crack of dawn and he hadn't paid attention when he'd stumbled into the kitchen twenty minutes earlier. Now the thought that he didn't know exactly where his pack members were was driving him crazy.

"They're safe in the next room," Daniel informed him, obviously catching Dean's frequent glances in that direction.

"I know," Dean muttered but he was already abandoning his coffee in order to see them with his own eyes. He stopped just inside the room, the first person catching his eye making his lips quirk up in an amused grin. Molly McNamara was perched perilously on the room's ancient rocking chair, a woolen blanket covering her frame and tucked carefully under her chin. With her soft brown hair falling across her face she looked younger, as if sleep had washed the years away. Aiden and Amy were curled together on the couch covered by a couple more blankets, their faces peaceful. The last one, Josiah, had sprawled out on the floor, a blanket tucked halfway around his slim frame.

"See," Daniel said softly from behind him. "They're fine." Dean snorted but didn't reply, creeping softly across the creaky floor to kneel next to Josiah. There was just no balance between him and the younger man. Either Josiah was snapping and snarling at Dean or he was flinching and cowering away like a wounded dog. Even now he was lying belly up on the floor, dropping down to lowest rank. "You're doing good with them," Daniel added and Dean let out a derisive snort, tilting his head toward Josiah.

"Oh really," he challenged and Daniel met his eyes steadily. 

"He trusts you," the older man replied.

"Maybe not to rip his throat out without reason but not much beyond that." Dean turned his gaze back to Josiah, trying to figure out how he could get the younger man into the abandoned armchair without startling him.

"Pick him up." Daniel said those three words in such a matter-of-fact tone that Dean turned to gape at him. "I'm serious," the man continued. "He trusts you. After all, he wouldn't be lying like _that_ if he didn't." Dean couldn't find the words to argue with that so he turned back to Josiah and, with a rueful sigh as he anticipated the panicked wake up he was about to experience, picked the younger man up. To his surprise Josiah didn't flinch or thrash awake. Instead his frame stayed lax in Dean's arms. He could feel his eyebrows arching toward his hairline as he carried the slim frame across the room to settle Josiah into the armchair and cover him up. "Told you so," Daniel said, heading back into the kitchen. Dean sighed but didn't argue, choosing instead to retreat back to his coffee.

"Why do I have to be awake first anyway?" Dean muttered.

"You're the alpha," Daniel replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Your body has adjusted to need less sleep after full moon nights so you can protect your pack mates." Dean huffed at that but couldn't be bothered with arguing so he poured himself another cup of coffee instead. "Josiah'll be up next since he's an up and coming alpha," Daniel added, almost as an afterthought. "Then the others." As if hearing Daniel's words, Dean heard the sound of a body shifting slowly awake in the next room accompanied by a sense of sleepy awareness through one of the bonds. "Better head in before he panics," Daniel commented but Dean was already bolting for the next room, having felt the like prickles of fear already drifting through the bond.

Josiah was half awake in the chair, trying to squirm free of the blankets with dazed panic flickering in his blue eyes. "Honestly," Dean muttered, stepping into view and crouching in front of the younger man. "You aren't even fully dressed." Josiah stared at him, obviously trying to put two and two together, but the panic was fading away. Josiah made another effort to untangle himself, this time marginally more successful than before, and Dean rolled his eyes. "Stay," he ordered and probably looked as surprised as Josiah did when the younger man went limp. He headed for the upstairs of Daniel's house, fishing out a pair of blue jeans and a belt, and returned a moment later to find Josiah mostly untangled from the blankets. He muttered something under his breath about not listening and tossed the clothing at Josiah, heading for the kitchen. Moments later the younger werewolf joined him in the kitchen, sinking down warily in a chair. Daniel looked between the two of them and then shook his head and went over to the counter, rattling pans and opening cabinet drawers.

Thirty minutes later Daniel was finishing cooking pancakes and the entire pack had settled around the table. Molly was reading through the local newspaper, looking for any sign of a case, while Amy tried to draw still half awake pack mates into a full blown conversation that just wasn't going to happen. Once the food was on the table any attempts at conversation ceased as they settled down to eat. Finally, once the food was consumed, Molly tossed aside the newspaper in frustration. "There's nothing," she half growled and Dean resisted the urge to sigh. As if he wasn't juggling enough on his plate already without Molly trying to add another case? The most pressing concern was Josiah who had ended up sitting next to him at the table but who was all but cringing away from him.

"I have one," Daniel spoke up suddenly. "Simple salt and burn." The older man's eyes bored meaningfully into Dean's until he suddenly understood. 

"Josiah and I'll take it," he said, feeling the younger man tense next to him.

"File's on my desk," Daniel said, standing and heading around the corner to grab it. The instant the older man was gone Molly whirled on Dean.

"What do you think you're doing?" she snarled. "He doesn't even know how to hunt." At the same time Josiah jerked his chair back fast enough that it squealed on the wood flooring. They all watched in silence as the stormed out, Molly's mouth wide open.

"Nice job idiot," Amy suddenly snapped, standing as well and heading after Josiah.

"What did I-" Molly started to protest indignantly but Aiden interrupted her.

"Josiah was a hunter. That's why he was the first one changed back home." Then Aiden turned and left too, leaving Molly to look helplessly at Dean.

"Go apologize," Dean told her, resisting the urge to bang his head and Molly left too. "Why?" he muttered, dropping his head down to the table next to the stack of dirty dishes.

"Honeymoon phase is over," Daniel informed him from the doorway and Dean groaned. "You'll get it figured out."

"I sincerely hope so," Dean muttered, standing and taking the case file from Daniel. "Here goes nothing." Then he headed out to join his pack. The first glance was not encouraging. Josiah was slumped on the front porch with Amy settled next to him and Aiden hovering protectively behind his girl. Molly had settled on the swing on the other end of the porch, expression completely closed off. He cleared his throat and every head turned expectantly toward him, shocking him into silence. After a long moment Molly cleared her throat pointedly and he shook off his shock. "Everything settled?" Head nods all around and Molly even managed to look him in the eye while doing so. He didn't press it further than that. Instead he waved the folder vaguely in Josiah's direction. "Ready to go?" Josiah didn't answer but he did stand and Dean knew that was as good as he was going to get for now.

The drive to Colton, Michigan would have been completely silent if not for Dean's music. That alone was torture but Josiah's end of the bond was also strangely silent, making it that much worse. He managed to get them to Colton without demanding answers but it was a close call. That night was a tense one. Dean resisted the urge to shift but Josiah did and settled in the woods behind the hotel, watching the stars. Then they settled in the room to sleep, Dean too tired to even think about broaching the subject of trust with the younger man. The next afternoon was a different matter.

"So what's the deal?" Dean asked as he looked through the local newspaper. Josiah flinched slightly and glanced up from the laptop for a moment.

"What do you mean?" the kid asked warily.

"With you," Dean explained. "One minute you're snapping at me and in the next you're looking at me like I'm going to snap your neck." Josiah glanced back down, obviously trying to avoid the conversation, but Dean kept talking. "You do know I'm not going to hurt you, right?"

"Do I?" Josiah asked darkly and Dean winced. 

"Do you?" he asked finally, no challenge in his voice. Josiah sighed then and shoved the laptop aside.

"What do you want?" The sentence was said with so much desperation that it almost hurt Dean.

"To understand." And with those two words it looked as if Josiah simply crumpled. Dean watched for a moment as the younger man's shoulders shook and then came to sit next to him.

"Well I don't understand," Josiah said finally, his voice a harsh whisper.

"Neither do I kid," Dean said with a rueful shake of his head. They sat like that until they heard police sirens wail by. "Son of a bitch," he cussed and heard Josiah laugh quietly as he scrambled to the window. "Tell me you found the grave."

"Yup," Josiah replied softly, sounding pleased with himself.

"What?" Dean said, spinning around and scrambling over to the younger man. He ignored Josiah's slight flinch in favor of looking at the address on the computer screen. "Great! We'll salt and burn tonight and be done with it." Josiah breathed out a sigh then and Dean felt a little bit of worry penetrate the previously silent bond. "You okay?"

"I can't prevent the shift," Josiah admitted after a moment, cheeks flushing pink as he ducked his head.

"You can still dig as a wolf, can't you?" Dean teased, squeezing the younger man's shoulder reassuringly.

"Right," Josiah said softly, head still down, and Dean slipped a hand under his chin. "It'll be okay." Josiah shrugged but he didn't try to jerk away so Dean counted it as a win. The rest the day was spent with crappy daytime television while he and Josiah sat in silence. It was uncomfortable but not as bad as the ride to Colton so it was progress. Daniel called at about six in the evening to check in and finally evening came. Josiah was barely hanging on to his human form by the time they arrived and the instant he was out of the Impala the younger man shifted. Dean longed to follow suit but somebody had to salt and pour gasoline on and set fire to the body. Job done he drove back to the motel, trusting that Josiah would show up eventually. Little did he know that his actions would change everything.

Josiah stumbled back in, half asleep, at sunrise looking more than a little confused. "You just left."

"Umm, yeah?" Dean mumbled out, the sentence sounding more like a question than he had intended.

"You just left," Josiah repeated and Dean groaned.

"It's too early for this shit. Just get to the point already!" It took Josiah a moment to process those words and when he did the younger werewolf leaned heavily against the door frame.

"You just left," he repeated again, softer this time. "Without knowing if I'd come back."

"You either come back or you don't," Dean said, staring at the ceiling. "It's called trust. Now will you shut the door? I'm trying to get some sleep here." Josiah pulled the door shut and moments later her heard the sounds of the younger man slipping on the covers in the adjacent bed. He feel asleep with a smile.


	24. Just A Little Late

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Characters;** Sam Winchester, John Winchester, Jessica Moore, Bobby Singer, Alice Watts
> 
> **Pairings;** Sam Winchester/Jessica Moore
> 
>   **Summary;** Sam and Jess discover they just missed Dean

_Just A Little Late_

"I think I found a case," Bobby Singer announced. Jess and Sam both looked up from their books, pens stopping their almost constant scratching in notebooks.

"What is it?" John asked from his position in an easy chair.

"Colton, Michigan," Bobby reported. "What looks like a poltergeist has been killing people who try to move into a local rooming house."

"Can I come?" Jessica asked the moment Sam and John stood. The Winchesters glanced at each other and Sam nodded slightly before John turned to Bobby.

"You sure it's a poltergeist?"

"Absolutely."

"Then yes Jessica," John told the young woman. "You can come." Jessica beamed and stood quickly, slipping her arm through Sam's as John walked out of the room, talking with Bobby.

"It'll be a simple salt and burn once we find the corpse," Sam explained as they headed upstairs to pack. "Not really dangerous unless the spirit comes after us and even then we can disperse it temporarily with rock salt."

"Wait a minute," Jess cut in as they packed. "Your dad and Bobby called it a poltergeist but you're calling it a spirit. Is there a difference?"

"Not really. A spirit is what's left of a person if they die but don't move on. Most of them go crazy eventually and start attacking people in any way they can. A poltergeist is just a spirit that can manipulate things on the physical plane so there's really no difference between that and a vengeful spirit."

"Good to know," Jess quipped with a grin, zipping her bag and slinging the strap over her shoulder. "Ready to go?"

"As ready as we'll ever be," Sam said, slipping an arm around her shoulder. "Let's go."

The drive to Colton was most amicable. John drove while Sam and Jess chatted, telling stories about Stanford. Occasionally John would ask some question and Jess would enlighten him. Over all everything was going well. They pulled into town an hour before sunset, parking at a local motel. Jess slept that night curled up in Sam's arms and even though she dreamed of monsters from nightmares she felt safe. Morning led to investigations. For two hours they trawled through data in the local library while John looked at housing records. They'd found a big resounding zero when they met Alice Watts.

The young librarian was bustling about replacing books on the shelves that rowdy kids had pulled down just a few minutes before when she tripped over one and fell into Jess's lap. "Oh my goodness," she said, scrambling upright again. "I am so sorry."

"It isn't a problem," Jess reassured the other woman with a smile. "But maybe you could help us for a moment. We're with a magazine that writes articles about the supernatural and we're investigating the recent deaths at the Martin House."

"Oh, the woman said, eyes wide with surprise. "Are you working with the other couple reporters who were here a couple days ago?"

"Did one of them look like this?" Sam asked, pulling a picture of Dean after his wallet and showing it to the woman.

"Yes," she said, face brightening. "Are you working with them?"

"Yeah," Sam lied with a grin. "We're just double-checking their facts. Would you mind telling us everything you told them?"

"Sure," the woman said with a gentle smile. "Anything to help you all. They asked about the legend of the Martin House and I directed them to the right websites to check. Then they asked where Angela Martin was buried."

"And she's buried where?" Jess prodded gentle, knowing from the twitchy looks over her shoulder at the front desk that the woman really needed to get back to work.

"In the furthest plot back in the local cemetery," she said, smile fading slightly into a frown. "It's terrible what happened to it. Someone dug it open and burned her body."

"Oh my," Jess said since Sam seemed speechless. "That's terrible."

"It is, isn't it," the woman agreed. "I'm sorry. I'd love to stay and chat but I have to get back to work."

"Thank you for your time Miss..."

"Watts. Alice Watts," she said and then hurried off to help someone at the front desk.

Jess turned her attention to Sam then, looking at her boyfriend with concern. "Are you okay?" She knew Sam had been searching for Dean for ages now and knowing that he'd just missed him. "Sam?"

"Dean was here," Sam muttered, shaking his head. "To work the case probably. But with who?" Jess knew he wasn't really talking to her but she answered anyway.

"I don't know but we can hack into local security cameras and find out."


	25. Video Cameras Are A Girl's Best Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Characters;** Jessica Moore, Sam Winchester, John Winchester
> 
> **Pairings;** Jessica Moore/ Sam Winchester
> 
> **Summary;** Jess may not be a very good hacker but she's just good enough to watch video camera footage.

_Video Cameras Are A Girl's Best Friend_

Jess may not have been very good with computers but she'd learned something from the forums she'd tried to hack into. It was enough to get her into the security cameras of the motel. She had just began to fast forward through the footage, moving from camera to camera in the time frame she and Sam had been given, when John Winchester walked into the room. "Did you find what I did?" Sam's father asked and Sam glanced up from his phone. He'd been trying to call his older brother for the past twenty minutes with no luck.

"That Dean was here with someone else before us?" he asked and John's eyes widened in shock.

"It was _Dean_?" he asked and Jess was momentarily distracted by the pure surprise in John's voice. Her fingers hit the space bar, pausing the sped up footage, and glanced at the two men. "I knew someone was here before us but I didn't know it was Dean."

"The librarian recognized his picture," Sam explained. "I think he may have done the salt and burn too although I haven't had a chance to check it out. Jess and I came back to see if we could find anything about him." Jess turned back to the footage, starting it again. For several long minutes as Sam tried to call Dean again and John began sorting through recent newspaper clippings looking for news of possible grave desecration. Jess was about to give up on hotel footage when she saw them.

She'd seen pictures of Dean since she'd started dating Sam and asked about his family. He'd even gone so far as to keep one of his older brother on their nightstand at their apartment. She recognized him almost instantly as he walked out toward the black car in the parking lot. Behind him was a younger man with blonde hair and a smaller frame. The sun was setting and they mostly kept their backs to the camera. The one time they looked toward it was to get into the car. In that moment Dean glanced directly at the camera while the younger man warily slipped into the passenger seat. Then Dean was following and Jess caught sight of an almost flinch from the younger man before the car was pulling away. "I found something," she squealed, quickly rewinding while bouncing in her chair. The motion was making her blonde curls dance and she impatiently shoved the strands out of her face.

"What is it?" Sam asked eagerly, scrambling to her side like an overgrown puppy.

"That's him isn't it?" she pressed, pointing at the Dean on the screen.

"Yeah," Sam said, tilting his head so he could kiss her. She grinned through the kiss and then played the footage. Sam watched with an attentive look in his hazel eyes. "Pause it there," he ordered suddenly and Jess did as she was told, glancing at the picture and trying to see what her boyfriend had.

"What is it?" she asked, curious.

"Did you see the way Dean's companion flinches almost when Dean gets into the car?"

"Yeah," Jess replied. "What about it?"

"If someone was working with Dean why would they be afraid of him?" Sam questioned and Jess shrugged, unable to come up with an answer. "Can you play it forward and see if it shows them coming back?" Jess shrugged again and hit the space bar, playing the video again. They watched in fast forward until the black car returned, this time with only Dean inside. 

"What happened to Dean's friend?" Jess asked, frowning. "You don't think he killed him, do you?"

"The only way Dean would have killed him was if he was some kind of monster," Sam reassured her and Jess nodded, turning her eyes to the playing tape. Sam had turned to talk to his father when she saw it. A shape like an animal and then a human like figure streaked across the screen for barely a second.

" _Sam!_ " Jess yelped, quickly rewinding and playing the section again.

"What is it Jess?" Sam asked, turning and then gaping as she replayed the film again. "Jessica Moore you are a genius," he yelped, picking her up out of the chair and spinning her around. Jess grinned and laughed confusedly, slipping her arms around his neck. "I love you, you know that right?"

"I love you too," Jess reassured him, standing up on tiptoes to kiss him on the nose. "Now explain to me why I'm a genius."

"If that's Dean's companion then Dean is working with something supernatural, at least for now. That explains why Dean's avoided contacting us," Sam babbled excitedly.

"He wouldn't want us to know," John finished and Sam nodded, still beaming at Jess. "It does make sense but it doesn't solve our problem of finding him."

"We can leave him a message saying we don't care," Sam said with a shrug, smile fading away some as he considered their options. "And since we know from this that he's kept the Impala we can send the word out to look for it."

"Sounds like a plan," Jess said with a smile, trying to bring back Sam's earlier disposition. It hurt to see him brought down from his high and Jess wished, harder than she had ever wished for anything in her life, that she could bring that smile back.

"It is," John agreed with her. "I'll check on the corpse tonight, make sure they really did salt and burn it, and we'll head to Bobby's tomorrow and see what we can dig up."


	26. Mechanical Malfunction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Characters;** Dean Winchester, Josiah Holland, Emmerson Watts, Aaron Lockwood, Riley Ackerly
> 
> **Pairings;** Aaron Lockwood/ Emmerson Watts
> 
> **Summary;** He loved his baby, really he did, but why did she have to break down in the middle of nowhere?

_Mechanical Malfunction_

They were an hour away from Daniel's home, which meant an hour and fifteen minutes away from any civilization, when the Impala sputtered to a stop. She'd been working fine when Dean and Josiah had left Colton, Michigan behind. Now she had decided to simply refuse to move. "Come _on_ ," Dean grumbled, slamming a hand on the wheel. The horn honked, startling Josiah out of peaceful sleep. The younger werewolf automatically was on the defensive, hands flying up to shield his face. "It's okay," Dean rushed to reassure him. "The Impala's just stopped working."

"And you had to honk the horn?" Josiah mumbled, slumping back down in the seat. Dean snorted out a laugh and sleepy blue eyes surveyed him for a moment before drifting closed. Dean grinned at the younger man for a moment, a thousand memories of Sam doing something similar washing across his vision for a brief second, before sliding out of the vehicle and popping the hood. He growled as he stared down at the steaming engine. The Impala had overheated and it would be a couple hours before it cooled down enough to safely start driving again. Even then the drive to Daniel's house would take twice the time it should so that Dean could make sure it wouldn't overheat again. Then he would have to check over his baby to find out what was wrong. 

With a sigh he left the hood open and made his way to the passenger side of the car, knocking on the window. Josiah startled and then glared nervously at Dean. Dean snickered and got a much less nervous eye roll. He motioned for Josiah to come out and could almost hear the huff the younger werewolf let out before the door opened. "I was sleeping," Josiah grumbled pointedly as he stood, arching an eyebrow at Dean.

"And once the Impala cools down you can go back to sleep. For now we might as well stretch our legs," Dean said. "Besides I want to know how well you can fight as a human." Josiah still didn't look thrilled by the idea but he did acquiesce, following Dean into the woods. They settled in a small clearing just out of sigh of the Impala and paused, their eyes meeting. "So how do you want to do this?" Dean asked and Josiah shrugged almost uncomfortably. Receiving the news that the younger man had been a hunter had come as a shock to Dean but it had also come with its own reassurance; Josiah should be able to handle himself in a fight.

Dean started in a slow circle and Josiah moved with him, carefully keeping the older man in view. Some of the awkwardness slipped away from the younger man's frame and his muscles moved fluidly with a grace most men only envied all of their lives. It said he was capable, that he knew what he was doing. They traded a few testing blows, each one trying to get a read on the other, and then continued to circle. Dean was grinning now. Josiah had matched him blow for blow, blue eyes not hesitating from tracking his motions or staring him directly in the eye, and it was glorious. They traded blows again, Dean finally feeling on equal footing with someone since the first time this whole debacle had began, and this time instead of pulling away after a moment Josiah slipped a leg around Dean's and they both ended up tumbling to the ground.

Dean twisted his weight as they went down, managing to get Josiah on the body. The younger man snapped his body hard the instant they hit the ground but Dean's extra weight and height helped him keep Josiah down. He went limp for a moment and then snapped his frame sideways, sending he and Dean tumbling down the slight slope of the hill. Dean snorted with laughter as they tumbled apart and followed Josiah to his feet, already snapping a foot out to land in the younger man's stomach. All the air escaped Josiah in a whoosh and he stumbled back, already tumbling toward the ground when Dean tackled him. They hit the ground hard and when Josiah finally got his breath back he snorted out a laugh. Dean grinned back and stood, helping the younger man up.

"You are definitely better than I am," Josiah admitted and Dean shrugged.

"I've got a few years of practice over you. You'll get there eventually."

"If we live that long."

"Thank you for your sunny optimism," Dean shot back and Josiah smirked slightly. That was when a rustling drew their attention further into the woods. Dean pulled in a deep breath and caught the hint of unfamiliar wolf. "You might as well come out," he called, shifting into a more defensive stance. "I can smell you." There was a moment of hesitation and then a girl a couple of years Josiah's junior stepped into view. She had long auburn hair pulled into a tight french braid but curly strands of it had sprang free and bounced around her round cheeks. Her face was soft, almost childish, but her pale green eyes were cold. Her scent was slightly different than that of Morgan or Josiah had before he'd killed Morgan and Josiah had become pack. Dean's first suspicion was that it meant this new girl was one of the new strain werewolves; the kind he and his father had hunted before.

The green eyes narrowed on him and the girl snapped, "Who are you?" Her voice had a smokey quality that made her bearing slightly more intimidating. She sucked in a deep breath, as if trying to taste their very emotions, and then those eyes widened. "You were changed."

"You mean you weren't?" Josiah blurted and Dean wanted to tell the younger man to shut up but he was just as shocked.

"No," the girl said, shaking her head and making the few free auburn curls bounce. "I was born this way. It happens but there just aren't that many of us anymore." She hesitated a moment and then took a step forward, offering her hand. "I'm Riley. Riley Ackerly." Josiah hesitated then, fading back some to take the lead. Dean pulled in another breath, trying to determine if there were any other wolves around. He caught the barest hint of others on the edge of Riley's scent and that made him wary to give her a name.

"You aren't exactly alone Riley Ackerly," he said and she gaped at him for a moment before her eyes lit up.

"Excuse me for saying so Alpha," she said cheerfully. "But you are good. For a changed werewolf, I mean."

"The other wolves," he prodded and her expression turned more solemn.

"You mean Emmi and Aaron," she told him. "I'm, um, I'm running away from home." She flushed at Dean's amused snort but soldiered on. "I ran into them by accident and they...we were attacked and....I didn't realize I was being followed! I promise!"

"Stop babbling and tell me what happened," Dean barked out in John's command voice and Riley stared at him, eyes wide again and mouth forming a little o of surprise. Finally she found her voice to explain.

"They got bit," she said. "And the one who did it got away. I've been trying to help them but since I ran off and don't exactly want to go back I'm kind of limited." She hesitated again and then stepped a little closer. "But you could help. Will you?"

Dean glanced at Josiah who shrugged and then turned back to Riley. "Lead the way." She flashed him a relieved smile and scrambled off into the woods. The other two followed on her heels, shadowing her steps toward a cave.

"Riley?" A voice as soft as snowflakes came from the cave and then a slim figure came into view. She had short, wispy hair that was some dark color between black and brown. Her eyes were green too, and huge on her face. They were a couple shades darker than Riley's close to emerald. "What's going on?"

"I've brought help," Riley said. Then she turned to Dean. "This is Emerson Watts."

"Emmi," the girl replied wrinkling her nose. A young man came out from behind Emmi with curling brown hair cut short but left just long enough that it could curl. He curved a protective arm around Emmi's waist and watched Dean with dark brown eyes. "This is my boyfriend, Aaron." The young man in question pressed a kiss against the top of Emmi's head but didn't take his eyes off the newcomers.

"I'm Dean Winchester," he said. "And this is Josiah. I have a pack about an hour from here; all changed. If you want, you can come join us."

"It's a good offer," Riley said with a reassuring smile when Emmi glanced at her.

"What about you?" Emmi asked and Riley shrugged uncomfortably.

"I'll be fine," she said after a moment. "I was born this way."

"You're our friend," Aaron cut in, his voice rough and tired. "We're not going to just abandon you. Especially not after all you've done for us." Dean cleared his throat then, drawing their attention. Josiah tensed next to him and Emmi and Aaron both flinched slightly but Riley turned almost hopeful eyes toward him.

"We would welcome you too," he said and Riley's eyes widened.

"Really?" she asked.

"Really," he confirmed. Riley beamed at him and that was when Josiah cleared his throat.

"This is great and all but how exactly are we going to get back to Daniel's?"


	27. Author's Notice

I'm really sorry that this is not a real update but I am having difficulties with it. Part of the problem is that I am trying to pack too many characters inside the story in too short an amount of time. Therefore this story is going to be listed as completed and discontinued but it is not. It is really being rewritten into a few separate stories. The first of which will be started this afternoon and called _Born in Blood_ so keep an eye out for that! Thanks for your patience!


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